History Manga / MyHeroAcademia

* EvolvingCredits: In the closing credits of the first three episodes of the anime, Midoriya is seen [[CreditsRunningSequence running in his middle school uniform]]. Once he makes it into U.A., he wears his high school uniform instead.

* ArmorPiercingSlap: Justified. During the Hero Examination trial, Midoriya [[HowDoIShotWeb didn't know about the sheer power of One For All, causing him to break his legs and one of his arms]]. While falling back to Earth after a high jump, Uraraka smacks Midoriya in the face just before he hits the ground. However, this was to use her anti-gravity Quirk to stop him before he hit the ground; given how fast he was falling, slapping him was the only way she could manage to touch him in time to save his life.

* CaptainFishman: Being the diverse industry that it is, there are plenty of pro-heroes who specialize in ocean rescue and crime fighting. The biggest examples displayed are Oki Mariner Crew, a naval-themed SuperTeam of heroes that [[FrogMen Froppy]] joins as part of her internship, led by the [[SelkiesAndWereseals Sea Rescue Hero: Selkie]].

** Twice's [[MesACrowd Double]] allows him to clone any subject (living or not) of which he knows the exact measurements. The Quirk has several limits in that he can only manage two clones at a time and each subsequent clone is [[CloneDegeneration weaker than the original or the previous clone]]. Cloning himself, however, bypasses both of these limits due to the clones possessing the same Quirk. This creates an endless loop of clones creating more clones, potentially resulting in [[CloneArmy an entire army of them]]. Giran notes that Twice's Quirk could easily allow him to take down an entire country by himself. Subverted however in that [[spoiler:clones are not necessarily obedient and possess the same sense of individuality as the original. Attempting to clone an army of himself at some point resulted in a massacre that left Twice mentally broken and unsure of whether he was the original Jin Bubaigawara.]]
** Chisaki/Overhaul's power is TouchOfDeath and HealingHands in one package. He can simply touch his target and [[OneHitKill blow them up]], or touch his underling and [[HealingFactor heal them in an instant]]. It also works on nonliving matter, allowing him to fight à la [[Manga/FullmetalAlchemist Edward Elric]]. To top it off, [[spoiler:he can even deconstruct both his underling and his own body, then [[FusionDance become a fusion of the two]]. However, he needs his hands to be able to do this, which the League of Villains realize [[AnArmAndALeg and teach him the very hard way]].]]

* {{Tanuki}}: A flashback to Kirishima's middle school days features a student who resembles a tanuki and has a Quirk that can temporarily turn leaves into money, referencing various folktales where tanuki turn leaves into money to trick people. Some bullies try to force him to turn leaves into money for them until Mina Ashido steps in to defend him.

* {{Tanuki}}: A flashback to Kirishima's middle school days features a student who resembles a tanuki and has a Quirk that can temporarily turn leaves into money, referencing various folktales where tanuki turn leaves into money to trick people. Some bullies try to force him to turn leaves into money for them until Kirishima steps in to defend him.

** Midoriya's first antagonistic opponent during the beginning chapters before the League of Villains was introduced was Bakugo, his childhood friend who constantly bullied him throughout their middle school years over his dream of becoming a hero out of his InferioritySuperiorityComplex, having recognized long ago that Midoriya ''did'' possess the inherent qualities of a true hero, but unwilling to accept that he was "lesser" than a "Quirkless nobody". Midoriya's ultimate opponent towards the manga's conclusion is [[spoiler:All For One, whose overarching goal primarily revolves around successfully stealing One For All from Midoriya by [[BreakTheCutie breaking his]] HeroicWillpower however he can, in order to maximize his chances of success during the inevitable battle of wills that results when he attempts to absorb the Quirk. To this end, he ostracizes Midoriya gradually away from his allies, mocks him constantly as a SketchySuccessor with glee whenever he speaks to him, and does whatever he can to demoralize Midoriya [[DespairEventHorizon past the breaking point]] mentally and physically, coming off as an overgrown bully preying upon his target's weakness for [[{{Sadist}} his own satisfaction]]. Fittingly, what helps snap Midoriya out of his mind games is Bakugo recognizing the similarities with Midoriya's past treatment and lack of inherent self-worth, and sincerely apologizing to him for his past actions as the culmination of his CharacterDevelopment throughout the story, even calling him [[YouCalledMeXItMustBeSerious Midoriya]]]].

** Season 5 opens with another filler recap episode, which, at least in the anime, marks the first time Bakugo ever interacts with one of UA's Big three ([[ShrinkingViolet Amajiki]]). The episode shows a training exercise where the Class 1-A students must fight the remaining Big Three members while rescuing Mirio who plays the role of a DistressedDude.

* FinalBattle: [[spoiler:Officially kicks off in chapter 343, with Izuku and Aoyama luring All For One and his new army of villains to an abandoned parking lot. They proceed to spring their trap on them, with Monoma copying Kurogiri's Quirk to launch the heroes' counterattack, employing the initial strategy used against class 1-A in the series' first battle, USJ, as a CallBack.]]

** Season 3 opens with a swimming competition between Class 1-A that's never in the manga in a long ShoutOut to ''Anime/{{Free}}''. The episode, however, has comparatively less fanservice than what's usually seen in this situation, which is lampshaded when Kaminari and Mineta try to check out the girls in bikinis, only to find out that they're wearing full-body swimsuits; if anything, the fanservice comes from the male characters who only wear shorts. Said episode also serves as a recap for the previous two seasons.

''My Hero Academia'' (僕のヒーローアカデミア ''Boku no Hero Academia'') is a manga written and illustrated by Creator/KoheiHorikoshi, which began serialization in ''[[Magazine/ShonenJump Weekly Shōnen Jump]]'' on July 7, 2014. It was reworked from a [[Manga/MyHero2008 one-off story]] for ''Akamaru Jump'' before being expanded into its own series.

* AdventuresInComaland: In the aftermath of the War Arc, [[spoiler:Midoriya is seen comatose and All Might can feel he's talking to his predecessors in a DreamSequence where he still cannot appear completely, half of his body being shrouded in a dark mist.]]

** Endeavor only sees Shoto as a tool to surpass All Might and nothing more, as shown by the way he doesn't even refer to Shoto as a person, but "it". In a flashback, he put Shoto through TrainingFromHell, which caused the child to vomit, and isolated him from his other children. Ironically, Shoto's burn mark didn't come from his father, but from his mother, though Shoto still pins the blame on his father for driving his mother to that level of mental instability. [[spoiler:After All Might retires, however, he starts to realize how badly he has treated his family and is trying to make amends.]] Worse, Shoto may not even be the worst victim of Endeavor's children. He's treated his second son, Natsuo, like a failure, and doesn't seem to care much about his only daughter, Fuyumi, [[spoiler:and then there's his oldest son, Toya, who was his original successor, but it's implied his much stronger Fire Quirk came with his mother's weakness to hot temperatures (her quirk is Ice) and when forced to learn a DangerousForbiddenTechnique, Toya may have been crippled. It's later revealed that he's dead or at least is believed to be dead, and Natsuo blames Endeavor for it. Later it's revealed to be Dabi, who then unleashes the details of his past on television to destroy Endeavor's reputation.]]

** [[spoiler:Shigaraki]]'s father, Kotaro, would harshly punish him when the former played heroes due to the latter's abandonment issues of his mother, [[spoiler:Nana Shimura,]] left him in foster care due to hero work. Kotaro would even lock [[spoiler:Shigaraki]] outside of the house in the backyard. [[spoiler:Shigaraki]]'s mother and maternal grandparents were genuinely kind to him but they were too meek to stand up to Kotaro. When Kotaro discovered that his children had entered his office and saw his picture of his mother and him as a young boy, he angrily confronted them. Hana, who was scared, lied to her father by saying that it was all [[spoiler:Shigaraki]]'s (back then as Tenko's) idea. This caused Kotaro to physically hit [[spoiler:Shigaraki]] in front of the entire family while no one did anything to stop him. After his wife and her parents confronted him, Kotaro began to question himself on his behavior toward his son. [[spoiler:However, when Shigaraki's Quirk finally appeared and accidentally killed his dog, sister, mother, and grandparents, Kotaro tried to defend himself from his son by using a garden tool and hitting the boy. But it was then that Shigaraki had enough of his father's strict and abusive rules, to which Shigaraki responded by killing his father. Shigaraki even said that he enjoyed doing it.]]

Over the past century, the human race has begun [[MassSuperEmpoweringEvent manifesting superhuman abilities]] known as "Quirks". With [[EveryoneIsASuper 80% of humankind possessing some kind of Quirk]], crime has been amplified to superhuman levels; but in turn, those who seek to use their Quirk to save lives and gain prestige can train to become an officially-licensed hero. Izuku Midoriya is a young, idealistic boy who dreamed of becoming just like his favorite hero, [[BigGood All Might]], despite being among [[UnSorcerer the unlucky one-in-five without a Quirk]]. He [[IJustWantToBeSpecial continued to hold onto his dream]] of becoming a hero through wits, filling countless notebooks with notes on powerful Quirks and crime-fighting. Yet a chance encounter with All Might himself changed everything when the veteran [[PassingTheTorch chose Midoriya to inherit his own Quirk]], "One For All". Now Midoriya has a real chance to become the kind of hero he always dreamed of and attend U.A., the most prestigious SuperheroSchool in the country. He trains his hardest despite all the obstacles in society and follow in All Might's footsteps as the [[TheParagon Symbol of Peace]], inspiring many with the belief that everyone can be a hero if they help those in need and if they have the will to do so.

** [[CaffeineBulletTime Sato]]: Goldenrod.

** Chapter 343. [[spoiler:It looks like Ayoma has chickened out and double-crossed the heroes once again... then he turns around and knocks back All For One with his laser, revealing that he was completely on the hero's side the whole time. This twist is so abrupt that it catches All For One completely off guard, as he was unable to detect lying from Ayoma's parents earlier]].
** Chapter 370 [[spoiler:opens with a flashback of a young mutant Quirk user being persecuted by a vicious mob who calls him a monster while declaring that no matter how far society progresses, they'll ''never'' accept those with mutant Quirks. At first, we're lead to believe this was Spinner's past, revealing how he ended up becoming a villain. Towards the end of the chapter, however, the flashback is [[OnceMoreWithClarity shown again]], this time revealing that it was actually ''[[MultiArmedAndDangerous Shoji's]]'' past]].

* BaitAndSwitch: Chapter 343. [[spoiler:It looks like Ayomana has chickened out and double-crossed the heroes once again... then he turns around and knocks back All For One with his laser, revealing that he was completely on the hero's side the whole time. This twist is so abrupt that it catches All For One completely off guard, as he was unable to detect lying from Ayoma's parents earlier]].

* MenActWomenAre: Although girls in this series [[ActionGirl do have moments of taking part in the action thanks to their careers as heroes]], it should be noted that several of them barely have an impact on the major events of the storyline. A lot of their personalities, in general, are either just {{Action Girl}}s or some variety of a GenkiGirl, whereas their male colleagues are given deeper, more complex characterizations and are actively involved in the story. It also doesn't help that the girls are significantly outnumbered in the student, pro-hero, and villain groups:
** Uraraka is the main female lead of the series, yet many of her scenes revolve around her feelings and ([[HesNotMyBoyfriend her denial of them]]) for TheProtagonist Midoriya. Although at one point she has a unique character arc of [[OnlyInItForTheMoney wanting to be a hero to financially support her family]], that arc has been sidelined for the time being. In contrast, Midoriya and other male leads (Todoroki, Bakugo, etc.) have so many conflicts and character arcs that give them more depth and complexity compared to Uraraka.
** Nejire is the only female member of the Big Three at U.A. Apart from being bubbly and constantly curious, she doesn't have a lot of character depth compared to [[TheDeterminator Mirio]] and [[NervousWreck Tamaki]]. It's made apparent in the Work Study Arc where Nejire stays behind with the other girls while both boys get their own spotlight fights that show them holding their own in battle along with receiving more backstory on their Quirks and personal conflicts. [[SarcasmMode But don't worry, Nejire gets her own spotlight battle a few arcs later]]: [[MenAreStrongWomenArePretty a]] [[spoiler:beauty pageant]].
** Toga is a zigzagged case. On one hand, she's the [[TheSmurfettePrinciple only prominent female villain]] in the series and is regarded as a ShadowArchetype to Uraraka because her MO is centered on her twisted feelings of love. On the other hand, she's very much involved in the storyline as she gets to fight alongside her male colleagues as they battle the heroes head-on. Her backstory is even given proper depth during the [[spoiler:Meta Liberation Army Arc]].
** The majority of adult heroines suffer from this, too. Midnight and Mt. Lady are the two most prominent pro heroines in the series but are only recognized as being there for [[MsFanservice fanservice]]. Future heroines such as [[{{Weredragon}} Ryukyu]] and [[IWorkAlone Mirko]] end up falling under the "Strong Female Character" stereotype as they both look cool and have powerful Quirks, but are stuck on the sidelines as their male colleagues, [[BoisterousBruiser Fat Gum]], [[CombatClairvoyance Sir Nighteye]], [[ActionDad Rock Lock]] and [[PlayingBothSides Hawks]], are given more agency and direct action scenes in the arcs they were introduced in.

* AmbiguousSituation: For all that it plays a major part in Midoriya's backstory, the actual treatment of Quirkless people is not touched upon very much; in the entire series, the number of truly Quirkless individuals that have appeared can be counted on one hand, two of whom are no longer Quirkless, and one of whom doesn't live in Japan. [[spoiler: That is until All For One takes few quirks from heroes, and League of Villains destroys Overhaul's arms.]]

* AmbiguousSituation: For all that it plays a major part in Midoriya's backstory, the actual treatment of Quirkless people is not touched upon very much; in the entire series, the number of truly Quirkless individuals that have appeared can be counted on one hand, two of whom are no longer Quirkless, and one of whom doesn't live in Japan.

* ZombieApocalypse: Parodied in the anime OVA ''[[Anime/MyHeroAcademiaTrainingOfTheDead Training of the Dead]]'' where Fujimi has a zombie virus Quirk and unleashes it on both his own teammates and a good portion of Class 1-A, causing all those who are infected to become mindless zombies.

* CallBack: Horikoshi is so fond of these it's too much work to list them all. What is listed are just a few examples.

** Another callback to the USJ arc happens [[spoiler:when the heroes lure All For One out into the open, throwing their forces at him and his army using Kurogiri's Warp Gate much like how the League of Villains initially attacked class 1-A at the beginning.]]

* CallBack:

* FinalBattle: [[spoiler:Officially kicks off in chapter 343, with Izuku and Aoyama luring All For One and his new army of villains to an abandoned parking lot. They proceed to spring their trap on them, with Monoma copying Kurogiri's Quirk to launch the heroes' counterattack, employing the initial strategy used against Class 1-A in the series' first battle, USJ, as a CallBack.]]

** All For One is the founder of the League of Villains and Shigaraki's EvilMentor, giving him resources and molding him into his successor. Even after [[spoiler:All Might defeats and incarcerates him at the end of the "U.A. Beginnings" Saga, the story still frames AFO as the UltimateEvil]], and his presence is felt even in arcs he doesn't physically appear in.

%% Franchise wide examples and spin off examples can go on https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Franchise/MyHeroAcademia and sub-pages

%% If the spin-off work doesn't have a page yet, it can go onto https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Sandbox/MyHeroAcademia until it's ready to launched

%% The official release is usually Mondays at midnight JST (late Sunday mornings in North America) on Viz and MangaPlus. This schedule is sometimes kept even when the Japanese magazine is released the weekend before due to Japanese holidays that fall on Mondays, but should be followed regardless.

* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: Technology in this world is a bit more advanced than our own; hologram projectors are small and cheap enough to be handed out with magazines à la CD-ROM demos and in an omake, Mt. Lady mentions 8K television.[[note]]8K [=TVs=] do exist, but are very, ''very'' expensive. The most powerful [=TVs=] affordable for consumers are 4K.[[/note]] This is eventually subverted as culturally, it's played straight, but only because Midoriya notes at one point that when Quirks first appeared, human culture was thrown into such an uproar that culture and technology ''regressed''. He says that if Quirks hadn't appeared, humans would be taking interstellar holidays at that point in history. It's also confirmed to have been at least eight or nine generations since Quirks first developed, which is an unspecified amount of time in the future from present day.

** Endeavor only sees Shoto as a tool to surpass All Might and nothing more, as shown by the way he doesn't even refer to Shoto as a person, but "it". In a flashback, he put Shoto through TrainingFromHell, which caused the child to vomit, and isolated him from his other children. Ironically, Shoto's burn mark didn't come from his father, but his mother, though Shoto still pins the blame on his father for driving his mother to that level of mental instability. [[spoiler:After All Might retires, however, he starts to realize how badly he has treated his family and is trying to make amends.]] Worse, Shoto may not even be the worst victim of Endeavor's children. He's treated his second son, Natsuo, like a failure, doesn't seem to really care much about his only daughter, Fuyumi, [[spoiler:and then there's his oldest son, Toya, who was his original successor, but it's implied his much stronger Fire Quirk came with his mother's weakness to hot temperatures (her quirk is Ice) and when forced to learn a DangerousForbiddenTechnique, Toya may have been crippled. It's later revealed that he's dead or at least is believed to be dead, and Natsuo blames Endeavor for it. Later it's revealed to be Dabi, who then unleashes the details of his past on television to destroy Endeavor's reputation.]]
** Subverted with Rei Todoroki. She was a kind woman who encouraged Shoto to pursue his own dreams, but snapped due to a combination of the frustration for being used and the fact her children were beginning to look like Endeavor, which resulted in her dumping boiling water on Shoto's face in a MomentOfWeakness. It's implied that she was physically and/or mentally abused by Endeavor as well, given his intense treatment of Shoto and her fear of her own husband. She gets better later on after being hospitalized and isolated from Endeavor, and Shoto reconciles with her after the Sports Festival when he begins to realize that he wasn't the cause of her mental break.

** Overhaul pretends to be Eri's father just for the sake of corralling her more easily. He makes her think she's a weapon being used to and born to destroy people. [[spoiler:He drains her blood to use its properties to make Quirk nullifying bullets. When she runs out of blood to give, he uses his Quirk to break her down and reset her back to normal. Given what's seen of people who have been broken down, it cannot have been a nice experience at all, and he confirms later that his broken and reformed victims still feel the pain of being split apart]]. Mirio is completely horrified when he learns about it.
** Eri's mother didn't want anything with her after [[spoiler:Eri's developing Quirk accidentally erased her father from existence. As such, Eri's mother left her into the care of her grandfather, the former Boss of the Shie Hassaikai, after telling Eri that she's cursed.]]
** [[spoiler:Shigaraki]]'s father, Kotaro, would harshly punish him when the former played heroes due the latter's abandonment issues of his mother, [[spoiler: Nana Shimura,]] left him in foster care due to hero work. Kotaro would even lock [[spoiler:Shigaraki]] outside of the house in the backyard. [[spoiler:Shigaraki]]'s mother and maternal grandparents were genuinely kind to him but they were too meek to stand up to Kotaro. When Kotaro discovered that his children had entered his office and saw his picture of his mother and him as a young boy, he angrily confronted them. Hana, who was scared, lied to her father by saying that it was all [[spoiler:Shigaraki]]'s (back then as Tenko) idea. This caused Kotaro to physically hit [[spoiler:Shigaraki]] in front of the entire family while no one did anything to stop him. After his wife and her parents confronted him, Kotaro began to question himself on his behavior towards his son. [[spoiler: However, when Shigaraki's Quirk finally appeared and accidentally killed his dog, sister, mother, and grandparents, Kotaro tried to defend himself from his son by using a garden tool and hit the boy. But it was then that Shigaraki had enough of his father's strict and abusive rules, to which Shigaraki responded by killing his father. Shigaraki even said that he enjoyed doing it.]]

** In the same episode, Tsuyu had a lot of regret when realizing her usual BrutalHonesty about the situation (going so far as to compare the students on the mission to villains) was too harsh, and doing nothing at all hurt even worse. She avoids them until she finds the courage to tearfully apologize and set things straight.

** Due to working with tight deadlines in ''Shonen Jump'', a lot of fights which aren't very noteworthy in the U.A. Sports Festival Arc get little or no attention in the manga, with some being skipped entirely. This is particularly JustForFun/{{egregious}} in the case of Yayorozu's ill-fated bout with Tokoyami, which actually messes her up a bit emotionally, and Horikoshi chose to reduce it to a flashback. Season 2 of the anime wasn't tied down by such limitations and needed to fill up its allotted time, so all the minimized fights get the attention they truly deserve.
** The Field Training Arc in the manga focuses primarily on Midoriya, Ida, and Todoroki's internships, leaving the others to cameos. The anime, however, devotes an entire episode to the internships of Uraraka, Bakugo, Kirishima and Tetsutetsu, Yaoyorozu and Kendo, Jiro, and Tsuyu, showing events that were only referenced in manga such as Tsuyu stopping a group of stowaways, and Uraraka's training under Gunhead.
** In the Final Exams Arc, each student vs. teacher match goes one team at a time while the others wait and prepare strategies, unlike in the manga where all ten fights are ongoing at the same time. This gives the earlier matches a bigger disadvantage, but it does allow the anime to focus on each match instead of flipping around like the manga does. Thus, fights which happen offscreen in the manga, such as Ida/Ojiro vs. Power Loader, are shown. As a result, Midoriya doesn't watch the others after his match; instead, he is joined by Uraraka. Also, the anime devotes a bit more time to showing how the students prepare for the written exam.
** The Forest Training Camp Arc has a few pages of Todoroki, Ida, Bakugo and Midoriya fighting against some of Pixie-Bob's rock creatures. The anime adaptation has a four-minute long sequence of the fight, showcasing each member of Class 1-A using their Quirks to fight them.
** Episodes 54 and 55 expand upon the Provisional Hero License Exam Arc by showing what students other than Midoriya and Bakugo are doing while Class 1-A are separated: Todoroki battles a group of ninja, of which the manga only shows the aftermath, whereas Yaoyozoru, Jiro, Tsuyu, and Shoji get an anime-exclusive sequence where they deal with a coordinated attack by an all-girls school and Yaoyozoru in particular gets the chance to shine.
* AdventuresInComaland: In the aftermath of the War Arc, [[spoiler: Midoriya is seen comatose and All Might can feel he's talking to his predecessors in a DreamSequence where he still cannot appear completely, half of his body being shrouded in dark mist.]]

** Later on in the series, which again relates to Todoroki, there is a much more contentious and realistic one: when an abusive family member decides on their own to become a kinder person (whether the change is genuine or not), the people closest to them ''will'' have their own opinions on how they feel about the change, and it's important to acknowledge the validity of each of them. When Endeavor starts to mellow out and take steps towards being a better husband and father to his wife and children, each member has differing reactions, from ThisIsUnforgivable (Natsuo), to TurnTheOtherCheek (Fuyumi, and Rei to an extent), to ForgivenButNotForgotten (Shoto). All of them are considered valid reactions.

* AllThereInTheManual: The bonus pages for the manga volumes sometimes reveal interesting details about characters or the setting, especially in the character profile pages. One page also explains how the law against unlicensed Quirk usage is enforced, and says that people generally don't get in trouble unless they cause harm to others. For example, Inko Midoriya could use her telekinetic Quirk to retrieve her cell phone without too many people complaining.
* AloneWithThePsycho: Happens with Midoriya just before the training camp kicks off, when he encounters Shigaraki at the mall. He's only saved due to the timely arrival of Uraraka.

* AngerBornOfWorry: [[spoiler: Upon finding out that Deku is in a coma after the Paranormal Liberation War arc, Bakugo's immediate response is declaring that he'll "Kill him if he dies"]]

** Perhaps not Nakamura, but most, if not all, of Mirio's fighting scenes. It's usually in the standard slow motion illustrated style, but even then the tiniest details are included, to the point that you can see Eri both flinch and widen her eyes in shock when he uses his Quirk to kick through her and she doesn't get hit.

** Endeavor vs. Hood, especially the climax of the fight [[spoiler:where Endeavor heads to the sky in order to use a Plus Ultra Prominence Burn]].

** The USJ Arc gives us [[BigBad Tomura Shigaraki]], the leader of the League of Villains, with the USJ Nomu as actting as TheHeavy.

** For the Provoisional Hero License Exam Arc, there's [[CreepyGood Gang Orca]], who served as the main obstacle in the actual exam, and [[SinsOfOurFathers Inasa Yoarashi]], the closest thing the arc had to an actual antagonist.

** The Meta Liberation Army Arc has the titular Meta Liberation Army, lead by [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters Re-Destro]].

** Due to the highly-regulated nature of Quirk usage, it's entirely possible to be arrested for using your Quirk to save someone's life or even to ''defend yourself'' from an attacking villain. Even heroes in training aren't exempt from this rule, since their teachers have to give them express permission to do so lest they face the legal consequences. The only other exception is if the students earn a provisional hero license to act independently, as Class 1-A and 1-B attempt to do after the Hideout Raid Arc. This leads to TheGreatestStoryNeverTold after the Field Training Arc, since the police would legally have to punish Midoriya, Todoroki, and Ida for stopping Stain, even after they ''stopped'' him from ''murdering'' a pro hero. They were safe because there were no witnesses and agreed to let Endeavor take credit. [[spoiler:Then after the Hideout Raid Arc, Aizawa threatens his entire class with expulsion when Midoriya, Ida, Todoroki, Kirishima, and Yaoyorozu interfered in an official hero operation to rescue Bakugo from the League of Villains. They were all safe because everyone was focused on All Might's retirement following his battle against All For One (they had to rebuild trust with the faculty, though). It gets to the point that Aizawa knowingly allows Midoriya to participate in a dangerous investigation because otherwise he thinks Midoriya might go into the unofficial channels to be a Hero and eventually get himself arrested. If he's participating legally, at least he can do the right thing in the right way.]]

* ArrogantGodVsRagingMonster: All Might is renowned as the most powerful and charismatic hero in Japan, if not the world, to the point that [[HopeBringer everyone is absolutely convinced]] that things will be alright with him around. Even as his power wanes from his injury and giving One For All to Midoriya, virtually nothing can truly stop him aside from his [[HourOfPower time limit]]. The first thing shown in the story to actually give him a challenge is the mindless Nomu, a monstrous being engineered to fight him through a combination of SuperStrength and SuperSpeed to match him blow-for-blow as well as a HealingFactor and shock absorption to NoSell his attacks. Even then, All Might manages to win a hard-fought brawl that ends with the Nomu being punted out of a massive training facility the size of an amusement park.

* ArtisticLicenseEducation: Aizawa's infamous (especially InUniverse) act of expelling an entire class because they weren't taking the Quirk Appreciation Test as seriously as he wanted them to, ''in their first day''. While it's eventually revealed [[spoiler:that he only got them officially expelled for a few days in order to ScareEmStraight and re-enlisted them right afterwards]], the fact still stands that Aizawa performed this action with zero red tape getting in the way and even now by the "current day" of the series, the administration of U.A. has not put any measures in place to prevent him from doing it again. ''Vigilantes'' implies that Aizawa ''sought out specific permission to do this''. [[spoiler:It's because he watched a friend die while on an internship in school and now wants to forcefully remove any student who doesn't seem to understand that they aren't invincible before they get hurt. The fact that he's allowed to do this at all is still pretty strange.]]
* ArtisticLicenseLaw: When [[spoiler:All For One is locked in Tartarus, it is mentioned he wasn't given a trial and will not be getting one in the future and is talked about like it's a good thing.[[note]]Granted, All For One is a CardCarryingVillain who gleefully performs mass murder, human experimentation, and levels cities with a huge smile on his face, it's unlikely that any jury or judge would rule him not guilty anyways.[[/note]]]]

** The recap at the start of the the anime's second season is framed as a letter to Gran Torino, but includes details about the mechanics of One For All that are both closely guarded secrets and information Gran Torino is already well aware of.

* AstonishinglyAppropriateAppearance: Sometimes, characters have distinguished features that aren't really effects of their Quirks. For example, somebody like Ashido having pink skin because of acid pigments counts as a Quirk side effect, so she's not an example of this, but somebody like Todoroki having [[PlayingWithFire red]] and [[AnIcePerson white]] hair which is perfectly split in the middle is pretty much a big coincidence (not forgetting that there was a higher chance of him being born with only one of his parents' Quirks instead of both like he did, furthering the coincidence).

* AwesomeMcCoolName: Hero names are intentionally designed to be this way. Their purpose for being "cool" is to give people a sense of hope to cling to and to tell the world they are kept safe by badasses while for villains they're NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast. This is zigzagged when it comes to hero students as you have Ingenium, Red Riot and [[spoiler:Dynamight]] together with the likes of Grape Juice, Cellophane, and Deku. Regarding Midoriya's, some of his classmates initially expressed concerns with it due to its rather demeaning meaning.

* BadPowersBadPeople: The main recurring villain has TouchOfDeath powers and the HeroKiller [[TheParalyzer paralyzes people]] by licking their blood. [[spoiler: And then there's TheManBehindTheMan, who can just downright [[PowerParasite steal Quirks]]]]. That said, there are points in the story where societal ostracization of these "bad" powers helps factor into why these people eventually became villains. [[spoiler: For instance, Toga's Quirk of being able to turn into anyone whose blood she drinks gave her a biological urge to ingest it when she could. As a kid, she clearly had a few screws loose but she wasn't actively murderous at that point, and any psychological assistance she received basically amounted to telling her to repress her urges for the appearance of normality. This contradiction of her urges being a fundamental part of who she is, and that society would clearly find said behavior wildly inappropriate caused her to eventually snap as she now views killing people and drinking their blood as her own twisted way of showing affection.]]
* BadPowersGoodPeople: A good chunk of the hero population have Quirks that could be easily associated with villainy and have an appearance to match, but are firmly in the side of good:

* BaitAndSwitch: Chapter 343. [[spoiler:It looks like Ayomana has chickened out and double crossed the heroes once again... then he turns around and knocks back All For One with his laser, revealing that he was completely on the heroes side the whole time. This twist is so abrupt that it catches All For One completely off guard, as he was unable to detect lying from Ayoma's parents earlier]].

** The first ending simply shows all the girls in Class 1-A hanging out together, making you think it's a slice of life story instead of an action adventure story about superheroes.
** The second ending shows all the characters in a HeroicFantasy setting, fighting monsters with swords and magic. At face value, it has nothing to do with a story about superpowered heroes in a modern day setting. The designs came from the art for the second popularity poll and a second piece of side art drawing all the characters in fantasy outfits. A story in the School Briefs light novels takes place in that setting.

** [[spoiler:The entire planning for the FinalBattle hinges on one factor: allowing All For One to think his plans are going perfectly so they can make a huge plan to defeat the League in one masterstroke. As All For One is so egotistical that he genuinely believes actually winning is a formality at this point, he falls for it hook, line, and sinker because that's just how it's "natural" for things to go.]]
* BeautyIsNeverTarnished: While there are exceptions to this throughout the series, most of the female characters and heroines only end up with either scratches or minor injuries, or otherwise unscathed, while the males suffer near-fatal injuries or are outright killed. The Internship Arc is the biggest example of this. While all of the male heroes go up against enemies that leave them bloody and severely injured, the heroines all go up against an enemy that simply drains their energy, and don't sustain any serious harm.

** All For One is the founder of the League of Villains and Shigaraki's EvilMentor, giving him resources and molding him into his successor. Even after [[spoiler:All Might defeats and incarcerates him at the end of the "U.A. Beginnings" Saga, the story still frames [=AFO=] as the UltimateEvil]], and his presence is felt even in arcs he doesn't physically appear in.
** Shigaraki is the [[TheHeavy public leader]] of the League of Villains, who is being molded to take All For One's place as the top villain. After [[spoiler:his mentor is defeated, Shigaraki ascends full time to the BigBad position, defeating his rival Overhaul and forming the Paranormal Liberation Front. It's eventually revealed that at some point in time All For One passed down his own Quirk to Shigaraki, [=AFO=] himself retaining a copy, making Shigaraki even ''more'' powerful. Shigaraki states to the remnants of All For One’s consciousness that he doesn’t want to ''become'' All For One, he wants to be ''[[SuperiorSuccessor better]]'' than All For One]].
** [[spoiler:At the end of the Paranormal Liberation War Arc, once Shigaraki gains the original All For One Quirk, he and the consciousness of All For One start fighting for control over their shared body, each one taking over for the other at some point in the arc. By the time they escape the battlefield, [=AFO=] has enough control that Midoriya sees Shigaraki as someone he needs to ''rescue'']].

** All Might filled this role to the entire word, citizens felt safe with him, heroes looked up to him and villains feared him. Understandably, [[spoiler:his retirement]] causes a general state of disturbance, insecurity, and rise in crime rates, even worse because the aforementioned Endeavor became [[spoiler:the top hero]].
** [[spoiler:This is further deconstructed when Midoriya finally takes on the role leading efforts against All For One after the Paranormal Liberation War. It's simply too much strain for him to take, considering he's only 16 years old and even All Might was growing weary and tired of fulfilling the job. Fortunately, Class 1-A fight tooth and nail to force him to let them help him, which alleviates a fair amount of stress and allows him to give himself breaks when he needs them. Afterward, a far healthier example plays out where Midoriya still fulfills this role but has an established support network of friends and allies who will be elevated to becoming the greatest generation of heroes alongside him.]]

** Episode 14 of Season 5 become way cooler if you have basic knowledge of Chinese/Japanese characters. The screen focuses on a few characters and you will get a more complete understanding of how Hawks managed to send a message to Endeavour.

* BittersweetEnding: The Internship Arc ends with [[spoiler:the Shie Hassaikai defeated and arrested, and Eri successfully rescued. However, many of the heroes suffered injuries during the mission, and while most will recover, Mirio has permanently lost his Quirk, Sir Nighteye dies of his wounds in the hospital and Snatch is killed when the League of Villains attacks the convoy to steal the Quirk-destroying bullets.]]
* BlackAndGreyMorality: Or very light grey, at least. The villains may be cruel, sadistic individuals thriving on bloodshed and chaos, but the hero community as a whole is not exactly spotless either. Many villains detest heroes because some of them are glory seekers, while some others lash out becuase they were ignored for being too small or low at the totem pole to be noticed. Twice in particular is a tragic example of this, where society made him as an outcast, but the hero's offer for help feels like a condescending oversimplification of Twice's life problems.
* BlackMarket: Although never directly dealt with, the reality of a black market is constantly mentioned in the setting. Giran is mentioned to be an arms dealer for it, Overhaul's plans included going to the black market to sell a new kind of serum to villains and in Chapter 219, it's revealed Detnerat is releasing their support items in the black market, with them being used to collect data on heroes and villains while also self-destructing when the villains are defeated.

* BluntNo: In Chapter 162, Midoriya [[spoiler:offers a recently Quirkless Mirio One For All, feeling he deserves it more than him, but Mirio bluntly refuses before Midoriya is able to finish talking]].
* BoardingSchool: After [[spoiler:Bakugo is kidnapped and rescued]], U.A. becomes this in order to better keep an eye on its students.

** Midoriya's first antagonistic opponent during the beginning chapters before the League of Villains was introduced was Bakugo, his childhood friend who constantly bullied him throughout their middle school years over his dream of becoming a hero out of his InferioritySuperiorityComplex, having recognised long ago that Midoriya ''did'' possess the inherent qualities of a true hero, but unwilling to accept that he was "lesser" than a "Quirkless nobody". Midoriya's ultimate opponent towards the manga's conclusion is [[spoiler:All For One, whose overarching goal primarily revolves around successfully stealing One For All from Midoriya by [[BreakTheCutie breaking his]] HeroicWillpower however he can, in order to maximise his chances of success during the inevitable battle of wills that results when he attempts to absorb the Quirk. To this end, he ostracises Midoriya gradually away from his allies, mocks him constantly as a SketchySuccessor with glee whenever he speaks to him and does whatever he can to demoralise Midoriya [[DespairEventHorizon past the breaking point]] mentally and physically, coming off as an overgrown bully preying upon his target's weakness for [[{{Sadist}} his own satisfaction]]. Fittingly, what helps snap Midoriya out of his mind games is Bakugo recognising the similarities with Midoriya's past treatment and lack of inherent self-worth, and sincerely apologising to him for his past actions as the culmination of his CharacterDevelopment throughout the story, even calling him [[YouCalledMeXItMustBeSerious Midoriya]]]].

** Quirk Extension training is covered in the Forest Training Camp Arc; essentially, pushing your Quirk to a comfortable limit, and then beyond that. As they're physical abilities, a comparison is made between Quirk Extension and strength training, as muscles have to tear themselves and then repair before they are strengthened.
* BrainsAndBrawn: All Might's relationship his ex-sidekick, Sir Nighteye. All Might was the brawn while Nighteye, with his intellect, investigative skills, and precognition Quirk, made him effective as the brains. Which is all the more impressive given that [[GeniusBruiser All Might is no slouch in the brains department himself]]:

** After the intense Hideout Raid Arc, we get a slice-of-life mini-arc beginning in Chapter 98, where the characters move into their dorms and decide to see each room and vote for the best one. In-universe, this is invoked, as the characters feel the tension in the air and are trying to disband it.
** The chapters following the end of the Internship Arc such as [[spoiler:Nighteye's death and Mirio's loss of his Quirk]] focus on Bakugo, Todoroki and Yoarashi as they take supplementary classes, which are quite lighthearted and fun, with Gang Orca playing a comical LargeHam.
* BrickJoke: During Kirishima and Tetsutetsu's match, the viewers made a remark how it would be great to have them both as sidekicks. Sure enough, they became sidekicks of the same hero in the internship period.
* BroadStrokes: In the manga, the Final Exams Arc has all of the students facing the teachers at the same time and Recovery Girl situated in a temporary first aid tent. In the anime, the adaptation messes around with the sequence of events to the advantage of its format. The final exams take place in order of one through ten, with the most climactic fight (with Midoriya and Bakugo vs. All Might) obviously at the end. Recovery Girl is also situated in a more upscale location to monitor the events and perform first aid, and instead of being out on the field, Midoriya and Uraraka are watching the tests to observe, learn, and strategize from what their classmates fail/succeed at doing, and are here together because their training partners won't communicate with them (allowing for some light ShipTease). It's also a lot more like the Battle Trial Arc in this respect. Functionally, the story is still the same, just modified to be more convenient for a different format.

** This is legally enforced. Someone with the perfect Quirk for a situation will be unable to help if they lack a hero license. Apparently, Good Samaritan laws do not exist in this world.

** An odd callback of sorts. For the results of the second popularity contest, Horikoshi drew the top 10 most popular characters in a fantasy style, with medieval clothes and weapons. Later, he drew other characters in the same style as side art. For the third ending for the anime, all the characters appear in their medieval outfits from before in a medieval setting completely unrelated to the actual story. The fourth popularity poll revisits this theme, with multiple characters updated versions of the costumes (reflecting either their increased master of their Quirks or, in All Might's case, his permanent DePower) and characters making the top 10 for the first time getting their own medieval fantasy outfits.

* CallingYourAttacks: Most pro heroes and even some villains do this. This is justified since, as pointed it by Mt. Lady in Chapter 241, in a world where heroes are both crime fighting vigilante and super stars adored by the population, representation is everything. Ultimate moves are the heroes' calling card that not only represent their brand but also show the public and their fellow heroes what they are capable of.

* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: While modern society has done its best to adapt to Quirks, it's done so by becoming strictly rule-bound. While for the most part things run smoothly, you have occasional hiccups like Midoriya and a few of his classmates getting ''penalized'' for getting into an unlawful fight with a villain.
* {{Capepunk}}: The story takes place in a world TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture where roughly 80% of the world's population has some kind of superpower referred to as a "Quirk". Being a superhero is a legitimate career option that requires a special education course. Hero jobs also vary depending on what area a person decides to specialize in, such as crime-fighting, disaster relief, team support, etc. The entire business is heavily regulated and up and coming heroes typically seek employment at agencies run by senior heroes in an attempt to make a name for themselves. The series focuses heavily on themes such as what it takes to be a superhero, the importance of society having a positive view of them, and why anyone would want to be a hero in the first place. Although (almost) EveryoneIsASuper, most people are not superheroes or supervillains, because most Quirks aren't particularly useful for crime or the fighting thereof; even the SuperpowerLottery winners still require intensive training to reach their full strength. It also takes a hard look at what it would take for a someone to be the BigGood in a world of superheroes, the dangers of having a single person be the symbol of hope and heroism, and [[spoiler:just what would happen if that person were suddenly unable to continue to fill that role with no suitable replacement.]] It also looks fairly closely at the consequences of limiting peoples' freedom to maintain social order in the advent of superpowers and the various ways that might cause people to rebel and become either villains or vigilantes, and the social prejudices inherent in people being born with powers that are unsightly, inhuman, or have historically been used for "evil."
* CapeSnag: In the English dub, Aizawa, getting away from a group of reporters, wonders how All Might managed to get anything done with the media "stepping on his cape".

** Yaoyorozu can create anything by manifesting it from her own body fat. As such, she becomes a BigEater to compensate.
** Sato's Quirk, "Sugar Rush", gives him super strength from [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin eating sugar]]. However, when he crashes from his sugar rush, he not only de-powers, his intelligence also temporarily decreases.

*** The A-Rank villain Muscular is sadistic, menacing and has a missing eye. Muscular's Japanese voice actor, Kosuke Takaguchi, voiced [[VideoGame/StarFox Wolf O'Donnell]] in ''VideoGame/StarFox64'' and ''VideoGame/StarFoxZero'', who fits this description to a T.

*** This isn't the first time Creator/JustinBriner was cast as the teenage, GeniusBruiser protagonist of a shonen series meant to be a successor to the original WorldsBestWarrior. That said, his stint as the ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged'' version of Son Gohan was merely a CallForward until the Buu Saga was adapted, which unfortunately, never panned out due to ''DBZA''[='=]s cancellation in February 2020.

*** Hiroshi Tameda, the “can’t you see” kid, looks a lot like [[Manga/FairyTail Natsu Dragneel]] in the anime. Funimation evidently noticed this and cast Creator/ToddHaberkorn as his voice.

** When Bakugo and Midoriya are assigned to clean the dorms, Bakugo screams at everyone to give him their trash and is incensed when he discovers that they all have huge bags of it to throw out. Mineta then teases Bakugo for leaving a windowsill dusty, prompting him to scream at Midoriya for not cleaning properly. Bakugo he is also pissed because Midoriya went around one day before asking for the others to give him the trash and nobody gave him anything.

** ''Legacy''. Almost every main character, hero and villain alike, is being influenced by the legacy of someone who came before them, which influences their characters. The series is largely about the transition from one generation of heroes and villains to the next, and how the legacy one generation leaves behind influences the generation that follows after:

** ''IndividualismVsCollectivism''. The manga explores themes of law and order on the one hand and freedom and license on the other. For example, you have occasions such as hero interns getting punished for getting into unlawful combat with a villain, even in self-defense, and the League of Villains attracting members in no small part with the promise of freedom to do whatever you want. There are even instances where the rules meant to create good heroes have caused certain forms of social stratification (U.A.'s hero exams are heavily geared towards those with Quirks directly capable of violence), and of course the allure of freedom and power and how it sometimes pulls in people who really shouldn't be heroes at all.

** Another more subtle one is mental barriers, how they affect people, and overcoming them. If you believe something is possible for you, it will be:
*** Midoriya struggled with people telling him all his life that he could never become a hero, causing him to believe so as well, until his chance encounter with All Might.

* CerebusRollercoaster: The manga operates in this pattern, usually having a lighthearted arc followed by a darker arc. This becomes especially noticeable following the Hideout Raid Arc. This dark arc is followed by the more lighthearted Provisional Hero License Exam Arc, which is then followed by the even darker Internship Arc and the even lighter U.A. Cultural Festival Arc, with the lighter arcs all starting off with {{Breather Episode}}s.

** Early chapters paint Todoroki with a rather AntiHero[=/=]AmbiguouslyEvil vibe that never appears again: he is unwilling to kill a villain less out of moral decency and more out of preservation for his reputation, and for that, doesn't even try to save the villain, just tells him to get out of the ice soon or else he would tarnish Todoroki's reputation. Then his DarkAndTroubledPast comes to light and we are given an explanation for why he behaves so grimly, and Midoriya yanks him out of his grudging state. Also, at the beginning, his left half is always encased in ice. Following the USJ Arc, however, he stops doing this, and no one comments on it.
** In early chapters, Yaoyorozu was more outspoken and prone to BrutalHonesty, such as when she chided her clasmates for believing that Aizawa would expel them on the first day, or when she criticized everyone besides Iida in the Heroes vs. Villains exercise. In later chapters, she rarely says potentially ofensive things unless she's being InnocentlyInsensitive.

** Yaoyorozu got the second place in the class representative elections by having two votes: one of her own and other from someone who's never revealed. At the time, it was irrelevant, but after she goes into HeroicSelfDeprecation and becomes a BrokenAce, finding out that the person to vote for her was Todoroki revitalizes her confidence in herself enough for her to get them to pass on the end of terms test.

** In the Final War arc, [[spoiler:a few flying craft are seen upon the reveal that UA High was converted into a FloatingIsland and are circling around it, yet they mysteriously vanish partway during the battle against Shigaraki. Chapter 367 reveals that they're actually Star and Stripe's renegade teammates who decided to stay in Japan for a while and help Midoriya get to UA High by acting as tether points for Black Whip to act as a slingshot.]]
* CherryBlossoms: There's an incredible amount of cherry blossom symbolism in this series. When All Might announces Midoriya can be a hero, cherry blossoms fall to represent the blooming of a new hero. Notice the cherry blossom trees in in the background of the first opening between Midoriya and Bakugo representing the blossoming of rivals that will spur each other to greater heights.

* ChristmasEpisode: Season 5, Episode 13 (Episode 101 of the series overall), appropriately titled “Have a Merry Christmas!” takes place on Christmas. Oddly enough, the episode aired in June.
* ChronicHeroSyndrome: This is apparently quite common. All Might mentions that all the top heroes' stories include some iteration of "My body moved before I could think" when it came to their first acts of heroism. Midoriya doing the same in the beginning of the series is what wins him All Might's respect. Deconstructed a bit, in that the series recognizes how toxic this mindset can become, and actively chastises students for leaping in to help without considering the consequences of what they're doing. With Midoriya in particular, Aizawa stops him, reminding him that if he fails and gets hurt, he becomes one more problem for the pro heroes to worry about and another factor complicating the situation. "If you can't save yourself, you can't save anyone else" is a common theme.
* CircleOfShame: Midoriya is repeatedly subject to this in his backstory, as everyone considered him a loser or weirdo for not being born with a Quirk and laughing in his face whenever his dream of becoming a hero gets brought up.

** Midoriya's is the Sludge Villain, where he proves that he has the heart of a true hero despite being Quirkless.
** Todoroki's is Midoriya, who manages to put him on the road to embracing his fire powers as part of himself and overcoming his father's abuse.
** Ida's is Hero Killer Stain, who forces him to face the fact that he has put his selfish desire for revenge over the greater good.
** Bakugo's is All Might, forcing him to put his pride, anger, and rivalry with Midoriya aside in order to accomplish his goals.
** All Might's is All For One, who [[spoiler:forces him to exhaust all of his remaining reserves of power in order to defeat him and forces him into retirement]].

** Episode 23, "Shoto Todoroki: Origin", has the title appear at the very end of the episode after Todoroki uses the fire side of his Quirk to defeat Midoriya and beginning his first steps to becoming a hero, and not being defined by his hatred of his father.

** Chapter 285, "[[spoiler:Katsuki Bakugo Rising]]" appears at the end of the chapter, [[spoiler:which concludes with Bakugo TakingTheBullet for Midoriya]].

* ColorCodedCharacters: Impressively, the anime's website manages to give an unique associated color to each member of the quite large cast. From the students alone:

* ConservationOfNinjutsu: Invoked by the League of Villains during their raid on the USJ; while the majority of villains are rough and tumble thugs, they've been saving Nomu specifically for All Might. This is invoked again during the Forest Training Camp Arc, when they send in a squad of specialists instead of the army of thugs they tried the first time.

** USJ Arc: Shigaraki is a PsychopathicManchild who uses video game metaphors all the time. He's an admitted villain who has big goals and despises All Might, unlike Bakugo. Furthermore, he isn't active in the forefront, as he prefers to let his minions do most of the fighting, and uses an EliteMook made specifically to counter All Might because he himself is admittedly outmatched. The minions in question are random thugs who are more or less beaten by the students thanks to a lack of foresight. At worst, they are delayed until the pro heroes arrive to stop them.
** U.A. Sports Festival Arc: Todoroki is the main antagonist of the arc. He's a hero in training. Unlike Shigaraki, he's also much more stoic and composed than the previous antagonists. Also unlike them, he is outright shown as someone sad deep down and instantly befriends Midoriya once the arc is over. In contrast, Endeavor is the first hero to actually showcase how corrupt heroes can be.
** Field Training Arc: Stain is a villainous WellIntentionedExtremist that kills heroes that don't befit his ideals. The difference between him and Shigaraki is basically spelled out by Midoriya at the end of the arc – unlike Shigaraki, Stain has an ideal and an objective to follow, while Shigaraki simply wants to see the world burn. Or, disintegrate.
** Final Exams Arc: The teachers play the antagonist of the arc. The difference here is that they don't mean any harm to the protagonists and are only trying to test them in hopes of the students overcoming their own weaknesses and foils.

*** Yoarashi is TheAce of another school, with personal beef against Todoroki. Unlike the antagonists before him, [[JerkassToOne he's genuinely nice to everyone else most of the time]] and is a loud and boisterous guy with a huge respect for heroes and heroes in training of all kinds. He's also capable of making amends to Todoroki -- and later, Endeavor -- after a while.
*** Gang Orca is a pro hero who poses as a villain in the exam. Like the teachers in the Final Exams Arc, he and his allies are not meant to actually harm the participants, but act as walking obstacles in their attempt to rescue citizens.
** Internship Arc: Overhaul is a {{Yakuza}} with intention of taking over All For One's spot as the head of the organized crime. He lampoons Shigaraki for not having any plans and ambitions to do the same, while showcasing he has an organized and long-term plan to achieve his own goals. [[spoiler:He's also much more cruel than prior villains as he happily tortures and mentally abuses a little girl with the intention of creating his anti-Quirk serum. This isn't the part Shigaraki takes issue with.]]

** Remedial Course Arc: The kids of Masegaki Elementary School are a new generation of superhuman with a superiority complex, serving as antagonists for the ones who had previous failed in the provisional hero license exam. The students can't defeat them like normal villains, they can't baby them, and can't allow the brats to beat them. Instead, they use their Quirks to appeal to the kids and inspire them.
** The Pro Hero Arc has a [[EliteMook High-End Nomu]] called Hood, not unlike the Nomu in the USJ Arc. Unlike the one in USJ, Dabi sends Hood for wanton destruction, and just happens to run to Endeavor and Hawks. Hood becomes an obstacle for Endeavor to overcome in order to prove he is worthy of becoming the new #1 pro hero and to confront his own past.

** The Meta Liberation Army Arc: The eponymous army, led by [[VillainWithGoodPublicity Re-Destro]], are a domestic terrorist organization that want to abolish all government regulations on Quirk usage so that people can use them however they desire. [[spoiler:Interestingly enough, this [[VillainEpisode arc]] doesn't even see them confront ''any'' of the heroes we've seen throughout the series, and instead [[EvilVersusEvil the main conflict is between them and The League of Villains]] since they see the League's growing notoriety as a threat to their plans.]]

*** Yaoyorozu receiving an expensive tea in a care package from home.
*** Midoriya accidentally clicking on a link to a Gentle video where he talks about the teas he favors and how he chooses blends based on what kind of job he's planning to pull.
*** Midoriya crossing paths with Gentle while they're both out shopping, and Midoriya noting that he'd just bought the same expensive tea that Yaoyorozu got from home.

** Discussed. During the Heroes vs. Villains training exercise, both Bakugo and Midoriya lose standing in the results for firing off massive blasts while indoors. The U.A. kids are taught from the very beginning to avoid property damage whenever possible because this isn't in play, and the series itself often shows civilians in buildings during times of crisis. In the Final Exams Arc, Midoriya and Bakugo even get points added for limiting damage from their own actions to the buildings that All Might has already destroyed rather than compromising the buildings that are still standing.

** Ultimately, the world of ''My Hero Academia'' boils down to this. The world population is 80% Quirk'd, meaning they have superpowers of some sort. These people can go to school to train to be heroes like All Might. As well, many of these heroes are revered for their acts to the point where there's a ratings system that places the popularity of these heroes. When you dig deeper, you find the darker side. The remaining 20% of humanity are Quirkless, are looked down on by those with Quirks and are denied a chance to be heroes because they would never "catch up". Even if you have powers, they may be pathetic or even "bad", meaning you could be looked down on for having undesirable powers. And those with perceived “dangerous” Quirks end up being demeaned as being fit for a villain and/or are forced into suppressing their Quirk, sometimes without proper help in controlling their quirk or having a healthy outlet to indulge their instinct. As well, many of the heroes out there aren't in it to make the world a better place, but for the fame and fortune. And the over reliance on these heroes has led to society becoming generally apathetic towards the suffering of others, as it is expected that a hero will come and fix everyone’s problems no matter what. Not to mention that there are deranged people who're more then willing to use their Quirks to hurt people for any slight provocation. [[spoiler:In fact, it's mentioned the present time of the manga is the stable society built ''decades'' after Quirks started appearing. The first few years were complete chaos from utter lawlessness as no one knew how to handle things at the time, allowing criminals to build their empires (one of which was All For One) and fighting in the streets with superpowers was a natural occurrence.]]
** Lady Nagant's backstory shows us the very dark and bloody work it took to uphold the bright hero led society. At a very young age, she was made an assassin for the Commission. Her job was to kill not villains, but heroes that threatened to tarnish the public's view on heroes, often for just petty crimes or in some cases people who had just talked about going against the establishment. It took a very heavy toll on her mental state and she ended up killing the Commission's President. It's implied the crime she got set to jail for was not because she killed heroes, but because she knew too much.

* CripplingOverspecialization: It's acknowledged a few times that the entrance exam to get in U.A.'s Hero Course is overly geared towards combat-oriented Quirks, leading to people like [[CompellingVoice Shinso]] who have powerful Quirks that just happen to be useless in this particular test.

** Even though he himself is injured from his fight with Muscular, Midoriya still tells Kota to get on his back, so that he can take him to safety. Then the two of them meet up with Aizawa, and Aizawa carries Kota back to camp.

* CruelAndUnusualDeath: Implied. All For One claims that the way Nana Shimura died was "Just pathetic." He gave one of her hands to Shigaraki to replace one of the hands he destroyed, [[spoiler:which was own father's]].

** Todoroki does this at least three times. The first against Ojiro and Hagakure during the Battle Trial, when he freezes them along with the entire building, enabling him to seize the bomb without any resistance. The second is against a group of villains during the USJ Arc. The third is against Sero during the U.A. Sports Festival tournament, whom he freezes with one massive attack.

** In Chapter 88, [[spoiler:All For One returns the favor by kidnapping Bakugo ''again'', ambushing the police force with a fraction of the Nomu army, and takes out several pro heroes who were at the Nomu factory in ''less than a second'' with the No. 4 hero Best Jeanist among them.]]
** Mirio delivers one to the entirety of Class 1-A, taking the whole class (except Todoroki, who declined to participate, and Bakugo, who was still on house arrest) down within the span of few minutes, including beating all of the long ranged fighters in less than six seconds.

** Zigzagged during the entrance exam. Uraraka is trapped beneath heavy rubble when a massive hazard-bot suddenly appears in the middle of U.A.'s practical exam. She manages to escape under her own power while Midoriya is busy demolishing the robot and gets to rescue him before he faceplants from fifty stories up.

** During the Internship Arc, Eri is held captive within Overhaul's HQ. She did, in fact, find a way out on her own, but goes back because she feared Overhaul would kill the first people she met outside. Recusing her then becomes a driving force for Midoriya and Mirio.

** If Chapter 300 isn't this, it comes damn close. In summary, [[spoiler:the raid on the Paranormal Liberation Front ends in a PyrrhicVictory at best. Though the PLF is effectively eliminated and the League of Villains is left scattered and at its lowest point, Gigantomachia has been stopped only *after* running a path of destruction through several cities, and many pro heroes have been killed or seriously maimed in the fighting. To make things worse, Endeavor's past abuse of his family and Hawks' killing of Twice is broadcast all over the world ruining not only their reputations, but the image of heroes in general. Public opinion of heroes falls to rock bottom, with many pro heroes deciding to quit amid the backlash, and civilians stealing support items and resorting to vigilantism. And ''even worse'' is that All For One takes over Shigaraki's body and masterminds a mass prison break out of Tartarus and several other prisons, freeing not only himself but ''every villain Midoriya and his friends had ever apprehended'', including Stain, Muscular and Overhaul.]]
** Later Midoriya lives his own worst moment. [[spoiler:after Lady Nagant gets blown up in front of him, and All For One taunts him with a DarkReprise of when All Might told him "You Are Next", his mental state clearly slips. Leaving even All Might behind, he spends the next days alone, fighting villains with no rest and saving people who are however afraid of him as his increasingly damaged costume gives him an unsettling appearance. He ends up so weakened physically and mentally that he can barely stand without the help of Blackwhip, and nearly lets a villain send mind-controlled people to lynch him. Luckily [[BigDamnHeroes his classmates come just in time]] and proceed to convince him to return to UA.]]
* DeadlySparring: During the Joint Training Arc, Class 1-A and Class 1-B perform a training exercise in which they split into teams and try to capture as many of their opponents as possible before a time limit runs out. Everything is going fine until Midoriya faces off against Monoma and becomes enraged by his taunts, [[spoiler:suddenly manifesting a new Quirk which creates massive, destructive tendrils that instantly go out of control and attack the other students. Everyone is horrified as Midoriya can only scream at the other students to run and hope he doesn't harm them. Luckily, Uraraka is able to get Shinso to brainwash Midoriya and end the attack]].

** There are more than one ArtificialHuman Nomu, but the first one is the most refined of them all, as it is made for the goal of defeating All Might. Later ones are not as strong and can easily be taken down by the likes of Endeavor and Gran Torino.

* {{Determinator}}: The "You can accomplish anything if you try hard enough and never give up, no matter the personal cost" mindset is played as destructive, as the main characters suffer great injury because of it. For example, Ida sustains nerve damage in his arm, whereas Midoriya suffers permanent damage to his arms as a result of going all out against Muscular. [[{{Reconstruction}} On the other hand]], it's played straight depending on the situation - Uraraka goes all out during her fight with Bakugo at the Sports Festival, which impresses the audience and lands her many internship offers, and [[TheAce Bakugo]] considers her a WorthyOpponent, while Mirio devotes his life to mastering his DifficultButAwesome Intangibility Quirk. He ends up as one of the Big Three at U.A, and is considered good enough to be a pro hero already.
* DidYouJustScamCthulhu: In Kirishima's backstory, he witnesses Ashido talking down a destructive villain by lying to his face, and the villain leaves peacefully after thanking her. [[spoiler:Later it's revealed that said villain is actually Gigantomachia, All For One's bodyguard and most powerful lieutenant.]]

* DirtyCoward: [[spoiler:Upon the end of the Paranormal Liberation War Arc, with thousands of civilians either dead or homeless from Gigantomachia's rampage, hundreds of hero's retire and quit shutting down their agencies. This is especially notable that not only do they give up, but they quit ''right when people need them now more than ever''. One of them was Yoroi Musha, one of the top 10 hero's, retires solely to avoid criticism and because he only became a hero for the fame and attention.]]
* DoubleStandard: During Bakugo and Uraraka's fight, many spectators start booing the former for not going easier on a girl. Aizawa immediately calls them out for this; this is the same audience who were fine with the three other male vs. female matches, including a boy who could shoot lasers against a female opponent. The only difference is that Bakugo is [[{{Jerkass}} an unlikable jerk]], therefore the audience assume everything he does is to bully his opponent. Not only that, but he calls out the crowd for assuming that Uraraka needs going easy on, and reminds everyone that for Bakugo to underestimate her would be a severe mistake and insult.
* DownerBeginning: The story opens with a scene of a four-year-old Midoriya getting the crap kicked out of him by Bakugo before being left, beaten and bruised while noting that "All men are not created equal." The story then jumps to his last year of middle school, where he's mocked by his entire class, has one of his prized notebooks scorched and thrown out a window, and is nearly murdered by a villain in the span of a few hours. After that, things seem like they'll get better when Midoriya meets his idol, All Might, only to be told that it's impossible for him to become a hero without a Quirk, grinding all of Midoriya's hopes and dreams into fine powder. Even after he rushes in to help Bakugo (to no avail, mind), Midoriya still gets chewed out by the heroes and is ready to resign himself to a life of mediocrity. After all of this, this is finally subverted when All Might chases him down to apologize and tell him the five words he wanted to hear his entire life: "You can become a hero."
* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:The Paranormal Liberation War arc. The war results in massive property damage, the loss of many heroes and countless civilians coming to harm. Shigaraki gets away, now fully under the control of All For One who proceeds to cause a mass evasion of villains from Tartarus and several other prisons; in a matter of days vast areas of Japan are reduced to lawlessness and people are forced to gather in shelters. Dabi's broadcast, combined with the disastrous outcome of the battle, succeeds in shaking the public's faith in heroes to the core, and many other heroes crack under pressure and quit.]]
* {{Dualvertisement}}: In the run-up to the anime's third season, a series of ads were produced to promote the Japanese release of ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'', where All Might asks the members of Class 1-A which Avenger they admire the most. For the record: Midoriya admires ComicBook/CaptainAmerica, Bakugo admires ComicBook/IronMan,[[note]]Well, he himself says it's less admiration and more respect[[/note]] Uraraka admires ComicBook/BlackWidow, Ida admires ComicBook/DoctorStrange, Todoroki admires ComicBook/TheMightyThor, and All Might himself admires ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk.
* DudleyDoRightStopsToHelp: At the opening of the USJ Arc, All Might powers up to deal with a variety of relatively minor crimes on his commute in to U.A. Because of that, he ends up burning through most of his [[HourOfPower daily limit]] before even making it to work. This means that he doesn't have much power left to fight with when the League of Villains makes their debut and he has to fight the impact-absorbing Nomu. Forcing himself past his limits to win the fight accelerates the weakening of his powers considerably.
* EarlyBirdCameo: The second opening and ending of Season 4 both serve as early showcases for a number of characters way before any of them will show up. In the opening, Hawks, Gentle and La Brava all show up before being properly introduced. In the ending, this includes a young Mirko playing volleyball in gym class, younger versions of Gentle and La Brava in school, as well as Takeshita side by side with Gentle, a young Hawks being trained by the government and Natsuo in a picture together with Fuyumi.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: [[CharacterizationMarchesOn The early characterization of several characters is highly different than what becomes of them in later chapters]]:

** In the first chapter, Bakugo always wears a smug grin on his face. Since then, he's a PerpetualFrowner whenever he's not in a fight. This is justified, because in the first chapter he is surrounded by his friends and practically revered, and every other chapter after that challenges his ego either directly or indirectly and puts him in a situation where he has to change in order to be accepted by most of the class. Bakugo also seems to be more concerned about his reputation early on, calling out his friends for smoking because doing so could damage his chances of enrolling at U.A. Later on, Bakugo largely doesn't give a crap about the opinions of others and frequently does stuff that would frankly embarrass any educational institution.

** A lesser example is with Ida. At the U.A. entrance exam, he is rather severe towards Midoriya and has a rather severe expression the entire time. Though he and Midoriya quickly become friends on the first day of school after the former apologizes for how he acted, Midoriya is initially unhappy to learn that they're in the same classroom. His hairstyle is different at first, initially being an undercut style. Shortly after school begins, it has grown out to a more generic hairstyle.

** Tsuyu seems to get along with Mineta in spite of his perverted behavior, as she legitimately praises his skills during the USJ Arc, they work together during the Sports Festival, and they visit Midoriya during his aforementioned Sports Festival hospitalization. Now, she, like the rest of the girls in Class 1-A, can't stand Mineta due to his perverted behavior.
** The first time it was seen in action, Recovery Girl's Quirk was shown to be capable of quickly curing horrific injuries with no string attached, as Midoriya's mangled arm and legs were brought back to how they were in a matter of seconds. Over time, however, it's been stated and shown to have more and more limits and drawbacks (as Midoriya's scars show); otherwise it'd have lowered the stakes too much.
** Bakugo freely using his Quirk in school comes as this in light of how future arcs would showcase and put a lot of emphasis on public Quirk usage being heavily regulated: only those with a hero license are allowed to use their Quirks in public, and doing so without one is considered a serious offense. Not only does this law play an important part in several arcs, but a whole villain organization exists with the sole purpose of taking down this regulation. Even ignoring Japan's atittude towards bullying, it's weird that no teacher called Bakugo out on using his Quirk so freely at the beginning of the story.
* EasilySwayedPopulation: The populace of Japan. [[spoiler:If the aftermath of the heroes' raid on the Paranormal Liberation Front is any proof, all it took to make them turn against their devoted protectors was one slanderous broadcast from Dabi about Endeavor's past life. This is despite one part of Dabi's broadcast (the claim that Hawks murdered Best Jeanist) being ''immediately'' proven a lie when Jeanist showed up seconds later to fight Dabi and Shigaraki on live TV. Which surely should've left the public at least wondering how many of Dabi's other claims were also lies. They decide to take support items into their own hands, and in doing so, end up causing more harm to the city than good; heroes are scorned and belittled, and some even shamed into retirement. The most harrowing sign of this is that they vandalized All Might's statue in Kamino with a sign about his neck reading "I AM NOT HERE".]]
* ElaborateUniversityHigh: U.A. has buildings devoted to teaching and classes, dorms after it becomes a BoardingSchool, an Olympics-sized sports stadium, and several city-sized complexes that are used for hero training. This is partially justified by one of U.A.'s teachers literally manipulate cement as much as he wants,[[note]]given the EveryoneIsASuper setting, it stands to reason that construction got a ''lot'' easier[[/note]] but the school's incredibly large property is still highly unrealistic for a Japanese city.

** [[TheHero Midoriya]] and [[BigGood All Might]] possess a light motif as holders of One For All. Each of the lights that appear in their mind while tapping into the Quirk represents a previous wielder. The anime frequently depicts All Might and Midoriya standing in front of blinding light with their back to the viewer, showing their roles as the current and future HopeBringer. Sometimes they're even shown emitting light from their fists as they're punching someone. The future shown in the BatmanColdOpen of Season 2 has Midoriya's punch coincide with the rising of the Sun, seemingly illuminating the world in the process.
** Conversely, [[DragonAscendant Shigaraki]] and [[BigBad All For One]] are heavily associated with shadows and darkness. Their lair is a dim, secluded bar, they both dress in all black, and both of them are evocative of the unsavory underside of hero society. Even Kurogiri, their personal attendant who [[ThinkingUpPortals can create warp gates]], has them step out of murky black fog as they're being transported.

** Shoto Todoroki's Quirk lets him produce vast streams of ice and fire. At the start of the story, he exclusively uses his ice powers to spite his father, resulting him being cold, stoic, and fixated on becoming a hero without using his fire powers. But once Midoriya forces Todoroki to realize that his fire powers are his own, Todoroki [[DefrostingIceKing begins to defrost]], showcasing far more warmth and empathy while retaining his burning passion to become a hero.
** Denki Kaminari possesses an electricity Quirk and is constantly the life of the party. Goofy, a CasanovaWannabe, and constantly energetic, he doesn't always think things through but manages to make fast friends with his classmates because of that same energy.

** Dabi possesses an extremely powerful and self-destructive fire Quirk with flames even hotter than Todoroki's or Endeavor's. Whereas Todoroki's acceptance of his fire powers is reflective of his growing warmth and empathy, Dabi's flames burn him and are illustrative of his obsession with destroying Endeavor and everything he holds dear. Dabi uses them carelessly to torch his enemies and actively tries to cause as much mayhem as he can. [[spoiler:As Todoroki's lost older brother, Toya, his obsession began when he was tossed aside as a failure in his father's eyes, with Toya's ambitions and frustrations resulting in him lashing out against the "perfect" Shoto.]]

** In an anime-only episode, a group of students have to solve the mock murder of a villain, played by All Might, killed by one of his hostages. When Tsuyu checks All Might, he laughs because the movements tickle him. Tsuyu assumes All Might simply broke character. Everyone realizes too late, only after All Might has disappeared and escaped, that the villain was PlayingPossum all along and All Might's moment of {{Corpsing}} was a deliberate clue they all missed. [[Invoked]]
* EternalVillain: All For One has been the setting's Symbol of Evil and BigBad to every user of One For All, from the first wielder, his younger brother, all the way to Midoriya himself. Across time, much effort has been spent trying to accumulate enough power to take him down for good, and not one has succeeded as of yet and a number of them have died at All For One's hands.

* EverybodyIsSingle: The only characters who are confirmed to be in romantic relationships are parents. Not a single U.A. student has been confirmed to be in a relationship or has ever been in a relationship. With students in the hero course so focused on becoming heroes, the series places way more emphasis on friendships and teamwork than romance. During the rare times romance is brought up, it's usually thought of as a distraction to hero careers. That said, they are all first years at a new school, most of them not knowing each other before entering U.A., so it makes sense they haven't immediately hooked up with each other.
* EveryoneIsASuper: By the time the series begins, 80% of humanity has some kind of Quirk, and it's noted that Quirklessness becomes less common with each generation; it was relatively common when All Might was young, but Midoriya is the only student in his middle school without a Quirk. That said, most humans aren't superheroes. Inverted with animals, with only a rare few obtaining Quirks and fewer having the kind of intelligence it takes to refine them. The principal of U.A. is one such animal.

* EvilIsCool: Stain is seen as this InUniverse, but this is deconstructed. The manga shows how damaging the concept can be to society, especially to young people, since the attention Stain gets from the media encourages already troubled people such as Toga and Dabi to become full time villains and follow in his wake. This is also troublesome because even if these villains are cool, they are still evil, and his publicity resulted in people buying merchandise of him and Kaminari even praising him ''around Ida'', whose brother Stain permanently crippled.

-->'''All Might:''' He said your power was shock ''absorption'', not ''nullification''! That means there's a limit to what you can take, right?!

* FantasticalSocialServices: Strict laws against unsanctioned use of Quirks are in place to mitigate potential havoc. Since most people gain their Quirks by the age of four, parents can take their children to Quirk counselors to help them acclimate to their abilities and use them responsibly.
* FatalFlaw: One For All as many know is an inheritable Quirk, passing down its stockpile of Quirks from person to person. [[spoiler:However, one major problem occurs if passed to a user with an existing Quirk, the strain of One For All takes a toll on the user's body on top of their own and they are fated to die young. As a testament to that, Hikage Shinomori, the fourth user and the second longest user next to All Might, died at 40, but the official statement says he died of old age. All Might, who's had One For All for at least 40 years, realized that One For All is optimal when passing on to a Quirkless user, thus Midoriya was the best choice to inherit One For All. But then this leads to the next flaw concerning One For All, seeing that Quirkless people are already a rarity and dropping more and more, it is possible that Midoriya will be One For All's final successor.]]

** In Chapter 168, it's revealed that some people have Quirks that aren't compatible with their biology. For example, Aoyama's Navel Laser can seriously injure him from overuse, due to a birth defect. This also explains why nobody really batted an eye when Midoriya kept severely injuring himself in the earlier story arcs.

** Season 3 opens with a swimming competition between Class 1-A that's never in the manga in a long ShoutOut to ''Anime/{{Free}}''. The episode, however, has comparatively less fanservice than what's usually seen in this situation, which is lampshaded when Kaminari and Mineta try to check out the girls in bikinis, only to find out that they're wearing full body swimsuits; if anything, the fanservice comes from the male characters who only wear shorts. Said episode also serves as a recap for the previous two seasons.
** Also in Season 3, a few segments are added for the Provisional Hero License Exam Arc that aren't in the manga. One showcases Todoroki vs. a class of ninja-themed students. The other pits a team of Yaoyorozu, Tsuyu, Jiro, and Shoji against an all-girl squad led by a hyper-intelligent [[TheStrategist strategist]].
** Probably the straightest filler episode in the entire series thus far occurs in Episode 20 of Season 3 which serves partially as a backdrop to promote ''[[Anime/MyHeroAcademiaTwoHeroes Two Heroes]]'' and partially just to have fun with six of the most significant/popular members of Class 1-A (the main five and Tsuyu) as they try to solve a hostage situation/LockedRoomMystery. The anime actually lampshades how blatant it is in the prologue when a confused Midoriya points out to All Might that they are supposed to be in the middle of getting their provisional hero licenses while All Might just tells him to ignore it for now and have some fun.
** Season 4 begins with a filler recap episode, this time involving a freelance journalist, Taneo Tokuda, coming to interview Class 1-A about their new dorm life. The recap aspect of the episode is heavily downplayed, however, as it focuses more on Taneo secretly serching for All Might's successor.

%%* FiveManBand:
%%** The group that goes off to rescue [[spoiler:Bakugo]] during the Hideout Raid Arc fits all five requirements:
%%*** Midoriya is TheLeader, of the "strategist mastermind" variation.
%%*** Todoroki is TheLancer, formerly TheRival who is just as invested in the rescue as Midoriya and Kirishima, but is very much aware the rescue plan is driven by their egos and may not work.
%%*** Kirishima is TheBigGuy, the HotBlooded tough guy who is just as invested in the rescue operation as Midoriya, if not more.
%%*** Ida is TheSmartGuy, on virtue of being the group's OnlySaneMan who does not condone the rescue and works to maintain it within legal boundaries.
%%*** Yaoyorozu is TheChick, who (reluctantly) agrees with the rescue, but goes with the group mostly to watch over them.
%%** The Villain's Alliance and Sensei:
%%*** Sensei/All For One: BigBad
%%*** Shigaraki: TheDragon
%%*** Dabi: TheBrute
%%*** Kurogiri: TheEvilGenius
%%*** Himiko: TheDarkChick
* FiveManBandConcert: The SchoolFestival Arc couples a variation of this trope with DancingTheme. Izuku, TheLeader and main character, is not part of the band but one of the dancers. Instead, it's TheLancer who is part of the band because he turns out to be a talented drummer. The band itself is comprised of Jiro (voice and bass), Momo (keyboard), Bakugo (drums), and Tokoyami and Kaminari (guitars). They all play [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgwUenaQqlM "Hero Too"]] as their School Festival class presentation.

** In-costume, background, and minor heroes and hero students are just as eye-catching as the cast, even more than some such as Jiro, Kaminari and Koda.

** Suprisingly, for a traditional superhero story, there are very few running around, although this is most likely due to how Quirks work. Although it's possible for a Quirk to grant more than one power, it's rare for one to grant completely ''unrelated'' powers, meaning flight+strength+speed+durability is a rare sight. Most heroes are lucky to have just one of those qualities and have to rely on teamwork and ingenuity to win more often than brute force. It's one of the reasons All Might, having three out of four of those classic traits (sans flight), became so exceptional.

** Tamaki Amajiki, hero name Suneater, can transform his body based on any food he has recently eaten. He eats beef, he turn his hands into hooves. He eats squid or octopus, he can transform parts of his body into tentacles. His mentor, Fat Gum, makes a point of giving him swordfish meat just before they take part in a raid of the Shie Hassaikai's stronghold.

** While All Might explains the nature of "One For All" as a Quirk that is to be cultivated and inherited, there are eight balls of light which are interconnected, like a constellation. These hint to the eight previous holders of the Quirk, with Midoriya being the ninth successor.

** The vestiges of One For All show up when Midoriya is battling Shinso, and break his finger to snap him out of Shinso's brainwashing. This not only foreshadows [[spoiler:Midoriya's eventual alliance with them]], but also foreshadows [[spoiler:All For One (from whom One For All was given), being the sole possessor of the Quirk before Shigaraki, eventually strengthening the connection to pull a GrandTheftMe on him.]]

** In the opening shots of the second opening, Midoriya can clearly be seen. Note the sleeves on his arms, which seem to have been torn off. This is a hint to the permanent damage he'll do to his arms at the end of the arc.

** During the last thirty seconds of the third opening, one gets a decent shot at all the major members of the League of Villains, including its real leader, as the shadow behind them heavily resembles All For One.
** During the Remedial Course Arc, an InUniverse theory called the "Quirk Singularity" is introduced. Later on during the Joint Training Arc, it's revealed that One For All is a perfect example of this theory, having grown strong enough in power over the first eight generations to allow the ninth wielder, Midoriya, to [[spoiler:not just interact with the "ghosts" of his predecessors, but also allow him access to their Quirks.]] Although that means Midoriya will be more powerful than all of his predecessors by far, it also means he'll have an even more difficult time mastering One For All than initially thought.

** [[spoiler:Aoyama]] is conspicuously missing when the League of Villains attack the [=USJ=], foreshadowing his role as the [[spoiler:traitor for the villains.]] Similarly, [[spoiler:Aoyama]]'s growing interest in Midoriya when noting the difficulty Midoriya is exerting in trying to control One For All is a hint that [[spoiler:Aoyama himself was also born Quirkless, and similarly has a great difficulty mastering Navel Laser, and he thought Midoriya also got his Quirk from All For One]].

** In Chapter 334, as the [[spoiler:vestige of Star and Stripe fades away, having burned itself out from destroying so many of All For One's stockpiled Quirks, it taunts the shredded and tattered mental amalgamation of Shigaraki and All For One that one day a true hero will put an end to him and his ambitions. Whilst the All For One aspect of the avatar spitefully denies her claims, it's shown that within a hole in the avatar's figure made by Star's assault, a mental version of "Tenko Shimura" resides at the centre, responding to Star's words and uttering Midoriya's name. During the FinalBattle, it's revealed that this is all that remains of [[ChildrenAreInnocent Shigaraki's good half]], being brought to the surface in denial of Mirio's claims that Shigaraki suffered from a FriendlessBackground. As All For One only understands negative emotions like anger and hatred, he was able to assimilate the "Shigaraki" aspect of his psyche, whom he specifically groomed since childhood to be as [[ThePowerOfHate hate-filled and misanthropic]] as possible, but was [[EvilCannotComprehendGood completely blind]] to the part of Shigaraki's mind that still embraced the few happy memories he possessed, leaving him mistakenly thinking he'd assumed full control over Shigaraki's mind and body]].
* FormulaWithATwist: The series revitalized the shonen genre for the early 2010s by introducing a rich and interesting new world that the protagonist needed to fit himself into, rather than said world basically revolving around said protagonist. While Midoriya does possess one of the strongest Quirks imaginable, simply becoming ''powerful'' isn't what he's after. Midoriya's journey is to learn and understand the complex and flawed system of a world where EveryoneIsASuper so that he become ATrueHero that truly helps people and makes the world a better place. His struggle to become a better hero, ''in addition'' to improving his powers over time, is what makes the story truly stand out.

** Minor plotlines are mentioned or brought up every now and then within the latter parts in the manga, this includes the Traitor Theory, the Quirk-erasing bullets, the Todoroki family drama, [[spoiler:Mirio's lost Quirk and the attempts to retrieve it]] and so on.

** The most notable pair are Kirishima and Tetsutetsu. They're both at odds about having [[MadeOfIron very similar Quirks]], but soon become friends after they first tie in the Sports Festival's tournament.

* FrogMen: Tsuyu and her family are all notably froglike.
* FromBadToWorse: Every chapter after 290 comes off as this, [[spoiler:as we see the collapse of heroes as people become more polarizing towards them, Tartaurus becoming a wreck which allows the most dangerous prisoners to escape, citizens unable to defend themselves as crime rate begins to rise, and many heroes are beginning to resign out of frustration and disappointment in their system, and the list goes on and on and on.]]

** To gain more experience at an internship, the students of Class 1-A and 1-B are required to pass a special exam to earn their provisional hero licenses, which is usually reserved for second and third-year students. By the end, all of the U.A. students pass except for [[spoiler:Bakugo and Todoroki]], who are subsequently forced to go to remedial classes for a makeup in the winter and subsequently fall OutOfFocus as a result.

** Much later, Midoriya gets in a fight with Gentle Criminal, a petty villain attempting to break into U.A. to gain attention, because even though he's not that dangerous and doesn't intend to harm anyone inside, the school is on high alert due to the resurgence in villain attacks and if any report of a possible threat was detected, they'd have to shut down the school and end the cultural festival going on at the time. When teachers arrive at the aftermath of the fight between them, Gentle says he just stumbled while Midoriya says they had a bit of a dispute. This is downplayed in that the staff realize quickly what really happened, but they decide to keep quiet so that the cultural festival doesn't have to be shut down.

* GroupedForYourConvenience: U.A.'s students are grouped based on their field of study. Hero course students are kept in classes A and B, general course students in classes C, D, and E, support classes in F, G, and H, and management classes in I, J, and K. Given the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin nature of the story]], Class 1-A tends to get the lion's share of the focus whereas the general, support, and management course students [[HufflepuffHouse tend to fall to the wayside]].
* HairColorDissonance: Several characters who seem to be black-haired (e.g., Midoriya, Ida, Tsuyu) have unnaturally-colored highlights (mint, dark blue, teal, respectively), but sometimes they will be drawn with their hair entirely on those colors, making it hard to identify their actual hair color.

** Mirio Togata is a cheerful, energetic and outgoing boy with neat yellow hair while his best friend the quiet, serious and calm Tamaki with messy Indigo hair.

** The manga starts off with one: Not all men are born equal, and inherently, some are born with an advantage or disadvantage over others. The rest of the manga runs along these lines and makes it clear that from birth, there are those who were born with the deck stacked against them and those who were born with the deck in their favor, and sometimes, people have privilege in some things and not in others.
** The harsh truth dealt to Midoriya throughout the first chapter is that sometimes dreams don't come true no matter how much you yearn for it. Without a Quirk, he had practically no hope of becoming a hero, and everyone from his teachers to All Might told him in no uncertain terms to give up on his dream and go find more realistic employment.
** Of the unconventional but real variety, and more of a message than an proper Aesop. When Uraraka mentions feeling shame of her unwholesome reason for being a hero, since she is OnlyInItForTheMoney, Ida, however, mentions that there is nothing wrong with it, since she is just looking for a way to sustain herself and her parents, and it's okay to look for a job just because it pays well. In fact, Midoriya suggests that Uraraka's motives are more grounded in reality than his own desire to become a hero.
** The plotline about Endeavor's relationships to his family ends with one: There is no right answer to whether you should forgive your abuser. Fuyumi decides to forgive her father and attempts to bring her family together. Natsuo blows up at his father and refuses to listen to him. Shoto reserves his judgment, stating that he is not forgiving him, but he is acknowledging that Endeavor is trying to change and that people do change. Even Rei acknowledges that, although she does not want to see him again, that he is making an effort. None of the characters are portrayed as in the wrong and Endeavor acknowledges that all of them are entitled to the reactions they had. He even tells Natsuo that it's fine not to forgive him, and has a new home built for his wife and children, partly for their safety and partly because he believes they would be better off without him.

** Sero actually does wear his helmet. However, you can see his face through the glass when his facial expressions need to be seen. Otherwise, it's completely black.
** Played with, with Ida. When in full uniform, he does wear his fully covering helmet, yet during the fight against Stain, which is his biggest battle yet in uniform, the helmet comes off.
** Mirio has to discard his helmet to make use of his Quirk. Normally, when he goes {{intangib|ility}}le, he'll drop right out of his clothes, but his hero costume has his own hair woven into it to avert this (his Quirk will treat it as part of his body, since some of it is). But, his helmet isn't made of cloth, so that can't work with it. One wonders why he bothers with the helmet at all, since he literally can't use it.

* HeroDoesPublicService: Discussed. Most prominently with All Might's WaxOnWaxOff training approach with Midoriya, having him clean up a beach in addition to his physical training, and some other heroes believe that hero work involves more boring, unglamrous work, too (like Fourth Kind making Tetsutesu and Kirishima pick up trash on patrol).

** Class 1-A are this to the other classes. Despite all the danger they got into, the fame that they get causes the other classes to look at them with disdain, believing the class to be cocky and to enjoy the fame of surviving against villains. This is especially true regarding their plan for the U.A. Culture Festival, where two general department students disparage their good intentions within earshot of Bakugo.

* HeroesRUs: Heroes can set up their own professional agencies complete with sidekicks and other assistants to help them in their duties ranging from stopping villains, to rescuing civilians to even filing paperwork. On a governmental level there is the Hero Public Safety Commission which is in charge of managing the interactions between heroes and regular members of society, as well as overseeing the laws and regulations of the Hero industry. They are also in charge of other functions such as administering the Provisional License test for up and coming heroes, as well as coordinating heroes and police forces for criminal investigation purposes. [[spoiler: The aftermath of the Paranormal Liberation War sees the HPSC as mostly defunct when a double of Re-Destro that Twice made slaughters a majority of their high ranking staff, and as a result severely hampered the possibility of Japan receiving outside assistance from other nations since they aren't around anymore to file the proper aid requests.]]

** [[HavingABlast Bakugo]] needs sweat to generate his explosions. If he can't sweat, he can't make an explosion. He discusses this in Chapter 38, pointing out that every Quirk has some kind of limit. Bakugo designed his own costume specifically to help him collect sweat to amplify his explosions. His wrists also aren't immune to the kickback from the explosions he makes, so if he overdoes it, he could also injure himself by straining his wrists.

* HiddenPurposeTest: The U.A. entrance exam is one. Midoriya assumes he's failed after scoring zero points on the practical exam portion. However, All Might reveals to him in a video that there is actually an additional scoring system, which the teachers give points based on how much they help others out. He scores sixty points in this system, which is more than enough to pass, because the teachers were impressed with how he rushed in to save Uraraka without any regard to his own safety when he saw her foot was pinned down by some debris, despite the robot he defeats being worth zero villain points. All Might tells Midoriya it'd be extremely hypocritical of them if they fail him after the heroism he shows off in the face of danger, something a bonafide hero has to deal with everyday on the job.

* HollywoodToneDeaf: [[ExaggeratedTrope Exaggerated]] when Class 1-A is trying out singers for their Culture Festival performance and Mineta's attempt is literally just shrieking.

* HotterAndSexier: The anime in general tends to have more fanservice, with a more liberal use of both MaleGaze and FemaleGaze.

** At the beginning of the Work Study Arc, Shigaraki and the League of Villains are beaten and humiliated by the Shie Hassaikai, a much more organized and ambitious organization, whose leader Overhaul dismisses them as a complete non-threat. In response to this, the League [[TookALevelInBadass steps up their game]], proving themselves to be just as dangerous and capable, whereas the Shie Hassaikai begin to fall apart as their plans are foiled. [[spoiler:Shigaraki and Mr. Compress put the exclamation point on this at the end of the arc, by each [[AnArmAndALeg removing one of Overhaul's arms]], permanently robbing him of the ability to activate his Quirk and getting revenge for his murder of Magne and taking of one of Mr. Compress's arms in the first chapter of the arc.]]

** Aside from the Heroics department, the main focus of the series, U.A. also offers General Education (i.e., regular high school education), Support (gadget engineering) and Hero Management ([[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin hero managers]]) classes. Shishou is the only prominent Gen Ed student, whereas Mei is the only prominent Support student.

** Endeavor invoked this directly; he had children with a woman with a strong Quirk in the hopes of siring a SuperiorSuccessor with a powerful combination of both of their Quirks, so as to negate his own weakness. With the youngest of his four children, he succeeded.
* HybridsAreACrapshoot: [[spoiler: Dabi inherited a much stronger version of his father's fire powers. However, he inherited his mother's resistance to ice. So every time he uses his powers, he risks severely injuring himself, and when we first meet him, much of his flesh is falling off.]]

** The Wild Wild Pussycats have been a team since they graduated over a decade ago, but they are even considered something of an anomaly in universe because very few hero teams last more then a few years at best.

** Todoroki's fist fight with Testutetsu; he keeps increasing the heat, until neither of them can take it. He doesn't even think about switching to ice, which would have made the steel hard and brittle.
* IndividualismVsCollectivism: One of the {{Central Theme}}s of the series, with the dichotomy not only playing a key role in the conflict between [[BigBad Shigaraki's]] organisation and the heroes (respectively) but also on an individual by individual basis - with the series frequently acknowledging the benefits and flaws of each extreme.

* ImpressedByTheCivilian: The story opens with Izuku Midoriya, a {{Muggle|s}} in a world where most people have a superpower, meeting his idol, number one hero All Might. All Might tells Izuku that without a superpower, he'll never be a hero, only for Izuku to throw himself into battle anyway in an effort to save his friend. All Might is so impressed by this that he not only changes his tune, he makes Izuku the successor to his own power.
* InformedAttribute: In the physical tests Class 1-A take on their first day of school, all the students are able to outperform Midoriya due to being able to use their Quirks effectively, whereas he can't. This is despite the fact that he has undergone intensive muscle training in the preceding year and that they are ''physical'' tests, like long jump and softball throwing, which several of his classmates' Quirks wouldn't be helpful with. Though Midoriya doesn't finish in first place in any of the tests (since the one test he uses his Quirk for, throwing a baseball for distance, is the one where Uraraka has already scored ''infinity'' by making her ball weightless and throwing it into outer space), some of his classmates have Quirks that would be useless in all eight of the tests. The manga includes a line trying to justify this (Midoriya muses that he did poorly in the last two tests, especially the endurance run, because he was in so much pain from his broken finger), but that particular scene gets skipped in the anime.

* JaywalkingWillRuinYourLife: Activating one's Quirk in public is considered a serious offense if it's not to protect oneself or other people. On the other hand, it's often treated as a very minor crime and offenders are usually just given a warning or long lecture if they happen to get caught. That said, should someone be arrested for it, that person is named a villain. In the ''Vigilantes'' spin-off, a police officer mentions she will have to write a letter of apology for using her Quirk to free hostages. When Class 1-A are under attack from the League of Villains, Aizawa has to give them express permission to use their Quirks to enter combat or else they'll face legal ramifications. Even using Quirks for non-combat purposes requires a license to be legal. There is also a fair bit of inequality here, as someone with a relatively harmless Quirk, or one not easily noticed might never have to worry about using their quirk in public, while someone with a flashy quirk could face serious consequences just using it once.

* JerkassRealization: After All Might cedes his place as #1 hero, Endeavor understands a bit too late that not only everything he did was AllForNothing but, after [[spoiler: fighting the advanced Nomu called "High End", which leaves his face with a huge scar on the same side as Shoto, he realizes that he's indeed not as good as All Might and can't be as effective as his rival, despite his best efforts.]] He keeps on reflecting on his life and understands that his pursuit of "winning at all costs" was empty and one-sided and only got him to completely screw up his family. Afterwards, he tries his best to make amends for what he did, knowing full well that it's probably already too late for his family to forgive him.
* JoblessParentDrama: Downplayed. Uraraka's parents run a construction company, but work has grown scarce and money tight in the current environment. This is what motivates Uraraka to become a become a hero so she can support the both of them with [[OnlyInItForTheMoney the fat paycheck]] that comes with success in the industry. However, both of her parents remain cheerful and supportive despite their financial situation, encouraging her to become a hero for her own sake rather than thinking about them.

** Played straight when the sludge villain attempts to hijack Bakugo's body, but since Bakugo had already spent the entire chapter up to that point being an unlikable {{Jerkass}}, it's more satisfying then horrifying.

* KidsAreCruel: Midoriya was relentlessly bullied by all of his classmates all the way through middle school for being Quirkless and wanting to be a hero. He was made the laughingstock of his entire class no matter what he did and [[ApatheticTeacher his own teachers]] did nothing to stop them.

** [[BigBad Tomura Shigaraki]]: While his first appearance doesn't suggest him being more than an emotionally brittle two-time villain, he changes significantly after the incidents with the aforementioned Stain. After his encounter with Midoriya at a shopping center, he's treated far more seriously as an antagonist, undergoing CharacterDevelopment in becoming more cunning, perceptive and even more dangerous as a fighter. [[spoiler:His qualifications for the trope skyrocket during the Paranormal Liberation War arc, where he's been physically augmented to have frightening amounts of brute strength, to use his Decay Quirk to devastating effect and to be a suitable vessel for the most horrible power imaginable - All For One.]]

* KungFuSonicBoom: The clash between All Might and Nomu results in gale-force wind that prevents anyone from getting within several meters of the fight.

** The third is similar to comic book legacy titles. Kirishima wishes to become a hero like the similarly powered Crimson Riot, and so has his hero name modeled after him. He even gets a couple of spotlight chapters showing how he came to understand Crimson Riot's mentality, and near the end of them a pro hero accepts him as worthy of the name after the courage and tenacity Kirishima has displayed.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKBevxvmKcw "Ingenum"]], Iida's theme.

* LethalChef: According to the light novels, Yaoyorozu's mother. She means well, but she doesn't think about whether or not ingredients go together before adding them to the mix, resulting in food that is, in Yaoyorozu's own words, "unfit for human consumption". Fortunately, she can afford to pay other people to cook for her, and has the sense to do this most of the time.
* LifeOrLimbDecision: On at least one occasion a character has performed self-amputation to save their own life from the spread of the Decay Quirk.
* LionsAndTigersAndHumansOhMy: Nobody ever remarks nor seems to mind the fact mention herebelow, that is that some mutants look like FunnyAnimals.

* LookalikeLovers: Some the parents both have the same sort of Quirk/appearance as their child, like Tsuyu's frog-like parents shown in the Bonus Chapter 1 and Hagakure's {{invisib|ility}}le parents shown in ''My Heroine Academia''.
* LostInTranslation: Although they do align for the most part, various translations have diverging interpretations of several key lines. The most egregious examples include:

** Uraraka's recognition of her feelings for Midoriya is handled differently. In the fan translations, she apparently resolves to push her feelings aside entirely, whereas in the official translation, she wants to merely get them under control.

** In the dub for the anime and fan and official translations of the manga, both meanings of Deku are lost, since they both involve readings of Japanese characters, which they presumably couldn't explain for non-Japanese viewers in the timeframe given. The dub fixes this by having Bakugo call Midoriya "Deku" as a shorthand for "Defenseless Izuku", while making Uraraka like the name "Deku" just because it sounds heroic and cute.

** The official localization of the manga has to explain why "Naito" comes immediately before a couple names that start with "T" on the provisional exam results, as well as the point of the panel- [[spoiler:Todoroki didn't pass the exam]].

** Gran Torino points out that Midoriya's idolization of All Might has warped his expectations of his hero and of the power of One For All, hindering his combat ability by making him think of his Quirk as merely a Special or even a Finishing Move.

** All Might is beloved by everyone as he is the Symbol of Peace. He, of course, is a very upstanding person himself who very often inspires everyone around him to do better. [[spoiler:So when he is forced to retire after his battle with All For One, the public is understandably devastated and can't for the life of them consider ''Endeavor'' to be a fitting replacement since he is the complete opposite of All Might's public image. He is trying to make amends with his horrible reputation, though.]]

* MasculineLinesFeminineCurves: There is a trend of the male characters being drawn with more defined muscles, sharp lines, and squares (e.g., Ida, All Might) and the female characters being drawn with rounder features and curves (e.g., Uraraka, Midnight). However, this is not totally ubiquitous; there are male characters who fall somewhere in the middle (e.g., Midoriya, who has round features but a muscular body) or avert it outright (e.g., Mineta, whose most notable physical feature is the round growths on his head), as well as female characters who have more jagged, angular designs (e.g., Jiro).

* MedalOfDishonor: A rare example that's PlayedForLaughs; Bakugo's ''furious'' that he's won the U.A. Sports Festival because Todoroki didn't give his all in the final fight. He's ''so'' enraged, in fact, that he has to be bound and muzzled in order to make him stay on the podium during the award ceremony. When All Might tries to ''put'' the medal around his neck, however, Bakugo resists by budging his nose against and then ''biting into'' the medal ribbon so it won't go around his neck.

* MenActWomenAre: Although girls in this series [[ActionGirl do have moments of taking part in the action thanks to their careers as heroes]], it should be noted that several of them barely have an impact on the major events of the storyline. A lot of their personalities, in general, are either just {{Action Girl}}s or some variety of a GenkiGirl, whereas their male colleagues are given deeper, more complex characterizations and are actively involved in the story. It also doesn't help that the girls are significantly outnumbered in the student, pro hero, and villain groups:

** Toga is a zigzagged case. On one hand, she's the [[TheSmurfettePrinciple only prominent female villain]] in the series and is regarded as a ShadowArchetype to Uraraka because her MO is centered around her twisted feelings of love. On the other hand, she's very much involved in the storyline as she gets to fight alongside her male colleagues as they battle the heroes head on. Her backstory is even given proper depth during the [[spoiler:Meta Liberation Army Arc]].
** The majority of the adult heroines suffer from this, too. Midnight and Mt. Lady are the two most prominent pro heroines in the series, but are only recognized as being there for [[MsFanservice fanservice]]. Future heroines such as [[{{Weredragon}} Ryukyu]] and [[IWorkAlone Mirko]] end up falling under the "Strong Female Character" stereotype as they both look cool and have powerful Quirks, but are stuck on the sidelines as their male colleagues, [[BoisterousBruiser Fat Gum]], [[CombatClairvoyance Sir Nighteye]], [[ActionDad Rock Lock]] and [[PlayingBothSides Hawks]], are given more agency and direct action scenes in the arcs they were introduced in.
* MenAreTheExpendableGender: Zigzagged all through the series thus far. Numerically, more male characters are being killed compare to female ones (though there are also far more male characters than female ones, both heroes and villains). On the other hand, female characters who enter a battle will be fought as equals, especially in later chapters, and thus will not receive special treatment in regards to physical violence.

* MetaTwist: The brief arc centered around Star and Stripe is all about this. [[spoiler:She is the most powerful U.S. hero with a borderline StoryBreakingPower, yet she fight the villain right before his fated battle with the hero. Story conventions in both shonen manga and superhero comics dictate that she will suffer from TheWorfEffect to establish the power of Shigaraki's fully-powered form and put the hero in TheDarkestHours. This is seemingly confirmed when Shigaraki manages to NoSell her strongest attacks and put his hand on her face. Then the twist happens revealing that through her HeroicSacrifice, she destroyed a good number of Shigaraki's Quirks, severely damage his body and buys the heroes both the time and intelligence necessary to defeat the villains.]]

* ModernStasis: The setting seems only slightly more futuristic than the present day despite being at least a good four or five generations ahead ([[AmbiguousTimePeriod maybe]]). What advancements do exist seem to be linked to the training and equipping of heroes. InUniverse it's theorized that the societal upheaval caused by the sudden appearance of Quirks delayed the development of new technologies for a while until things settled down. There are some who believe that, had Quirks not appeared, humanity would already be in space.
* MoralityKitchenSink: While the series has touched upon moral ambiguity in the past, the story has been increasingly become this; touching on morally complex themes of [[ThePenance penance]], CreateYourOwnVillain and ToBeLawfulOrGood among other things.

* MostWritersAreHuman: Aside from superpowers, many Quirks can also give people all sorts of mutations, such as weird skin color, abnormal body proportions, multiple limbs, animal characteristics, and more. Yet the main character, his love interest and female lead, his best friend, his two rivals, his mentor, the BigBad, and the GreaterScopeVillain are all baseline humans, with unusual hair color being the weirdest part about them. [[spoiler:It's somewhat subverted during the FinalBattle. Tomura demonstrates his new ability to grow [[BodyHorror massive fleshy growths of hands and fingers]] from his humanoid body to the size of a {{Kaiju}}, even under the effect of [[PowerNulifier Erasure]]. He states that it's because his altered body has begun moving past the [[WrongContextMagic Quirk Singularity]], wherein his body is mutating and adapting into a suitable form to contain the immense power of of the quirks inside him, and eventually, this will be the norm for all of humanity as quirks inevitably become stronger and more powerful down the generations, further transforming the next wave of humanity into forms unrecognisable to what came before them. This implies that, like [[{{Unsorcerer}} Quirkless people]], the human body as the 'normal' template will eventually become a thing of the past]].

* MsFanservice: A lot of the heroines wear either skintight bodysuits or skimpy, revealing outfits. Though these aren't exactly the most practical outfits for heroism, in a lot of cases, this is actually justified by the fact that several heroines, most notably Mt. Lady, are {{Punch Clock Hero}}es constantly competing with each other for media attention and sponsorships in order to make money, and several of the heroines actively use their sex appeal to achieve this. Plus, when the main characters get their first costumes, Uraraka discovers to her embarrassment that female hero costumes are by default made skintight unless the customer specifies otherwise...which she didn't.

* MundaneMadeAwesome: Sir Nighteye's Clairvoyance Quirk can only do so much in combat, and has a once-per-day limit. So, he fights his opponents with "hypermass seals". They look like regular office stamps, but they weigh five kilograms each. That's about the weight of a large cat, and he throws them around like they're shuriken.
* MundaneUtility: For a story swarming with superhumans, use of Quirks for everyday purposes usually tends to be for straightforward things--like Present Mic using his MakeMeWannaShout ability as a loudspeaker at the U.A. Sports Festival, Todoroki using his flame powers to light a stove, or Kaminari using his electricity powers to charge a phone. They rarely tend towards the humorously dull.

* NoCommunitiesWereHarmed: Whereas Japan’s 47 prefectures appear to be the same as they are in the real world, the same is not true for the municipalities therein. Among the most glaring examples, “Esuha City” stands in for Osaka (despite still being in Osaka Prefecture), and there is a “Kamino Ward” in Kanagawa Prefecture (with no mention of Yokohama, Kawasaki or Sagamihara, which would logically contain such a ward if it existed). Tokyo is a borderline case, with more general areas mentioned in passing but specific locations being entirely fictional.

* NoPeekingRequest: During the Battle Trial Arc, Hagaruke starts to take off her clothes to become an InvisibleStreaker to confront her opponents. Despite the fact she's completely invisible, her partner Ojiro becomes visibly {{distracted|ByTheSexy}} at the idea there's a girl stripping naked next to him. Noticing his awkwardness causes Hagaruke to suddenly become shy and tell him not to look at her while she strips.

** The aftermath of the Kamino Incident ends with All Might defeating All For One. [[spoiler:Despite his weak form being exposed, many people watching the news slowly regain their faith in the #1 pro hero and cheer him on. He finally takes down his enemy using the last of his power. He is then seen standing triumphantly and utters the words "You're next" on national television. While many see this as a warning to all villains, Midoriya understands that All Might's time is over and, now that he's facing retirement, it's ''his'' turn to carry One For All and become the next Symbol of Peace. However, even with a new #1 (Endeavor) beginning to make a name for himself, All Might's absence has led to a crime rate spike no one has ever seen before. Japan needs more heroes than ever to take on the rising threat, which leads to U.A. and other schools to have even starting classes participate in the provisional hero license exams in hopes of passing and filling the massive hole All Might left behind. All For One's arrest also creates a power vacuum for various villain groups to as well.]]
** The aftermath of the Paranormal Liberation War sees society completely upended in every possible way. [[spoiler:Entire cities are reduced to rubble as a result of Shigaraki's powers and Gigantomachia's rampage, with thousands of innocent civilians left heavily injured or dead, and even more left homeless and destitute leading to the peoples' faith in heroes being broken. Numerous important characters such as Twice, Midnight, and Crust, along with dozens of other pro heroes were killed during the battle and others were left critically injured to the point of being unable to continue being heroes. Dabi, who is revealed to be Endeavor's son Toya Todoroki, broadcasts a shocking video of him recounting Endeavor's abuse of his family and Hawks's murder of Twice to the whole nation, further tarnishing his reputation and destroying the public's faith in heroes even more. Heroes begin resigning en masse due to the trauma they've witnessed and the scorn they're facing from the public, and what's more All For One leads a mass breakout of Tartarus that releases some of the most dangerous criminals that Japan had locked away, further driving the people into panic. Soon ordinary citizens are taking it upon themselves to fight villains due to this distrust, despite having neither the training or equipment to do so. And eventually getting to the point where they start attacking anyone who even remotely looks suspicious in their eyes.]]

* OddNameOut: With respect to the series installments. The manga and the anime usually feature the title of the installment at the start, but in situations where some really heavy or intense events transpire, the title will appear at the ''end'' of the installment, usually for added dramatic impact and in situations where knowing the title early spoils something important.[[note]]In the manga only, as the anime gives a preview of every following episode and takes note that some viewers already know the source material.[[/note]]

* OneSteveLimit: Played with. Although there are occasionally characters with similarly pronounced names, they all have different spellings:

** There are two "Kens" in the series: Takagi (Rock Lock) and Ishiyama (Cementoss). Both are coincidentally pro heroes.
** There are two "Ryukos", Tatsuma (Ryukyu) and Tsuchikawa (Pixie-Bob). Again, both are pro heroes.

* OpenSecret: [[spoiler:Following the Paranormal Liberation War Arc, the existence of One For All has been leaked to the public due to Shigaraki mentioning it. This leads to Endeavor, Best Jeanist, and Hawks interrogating All Might about the true nature of One For All. Realizing he can't avoid the secret getting out for much longer, he tells them the truth. During a press conference, Endeavor feigns not knowing what One For All is for the sake of keeping society stable. Afterwards, when Midoriya recovers, he sends letters to his class telling them the secret of One For All as well. Later on, Chapter 317 reveals that the aforementioned group widened the circle to include other top heroes such as Mt. Lady, Kamui Woods, and Edgeshot to help with the ongoing hunt for All For One and the League, with many grimly noting that, as much as they ''want'' to keep One For All a secret for Midoriya's sake, the constant leaks mean that exposure may very well be inevitable]].

** Tenya's (and presumably the rest of the Ida family) Engine Quirk possesses radiators, mufflers, and exhaust pipes, are fueled by orange juice and clogged by sugar, and require regular maintenance. Also, at least some parts of this engine, such as mufflers, can be removed and regrow.

** Pretty much ''anything'' created by Yaoyorozu qualifies as this-- she's capable of creating everything from cannons to ropes to sound systems from her own lipids.
** There are several Quirks that allow for the manifestation or growth of metal on or from one's body-- Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu's Steel, Moonfish's Bladetooth, and an unnamed criminal who injects himself with Trigger can generate metallic blades from his body.

** Lady Nagant's Quirk, Rifle enables her to manifest a sniper rifle portruding from her right elbow, and to shape her hair strands like epoxy putty to make bullets.

* OurHumansAreDifferent: Prior to the beginning of the series, humanity began to develop "Quirks", natural superpowers that range from glowing to shooting fire to growing wings. Quite a few Quirks result in people having monstrous forms or [[LittleBitBeastly animalistic traits]]. This radically changed the definition of what it meant to be "human", leading to a period of unrest and strife as people struggled to figure out what to do about Quirks. By the present day, [[EveryoneIsaSuper 80% of humanity]] have a Quirk, whereas 20%, like Midoriya, are born [[UnSorcerer Quirkless]].
* OutGambitted: [[spoiler:The heroes manage to do this to ''All For One'' in the lead up to the final battle. He thinks [[TheMole his mole inside UA]] combined with his [[TheChessmaster plans within plans]] means victory is assured...so the heroes [[BatmanGambit allow him to believe that]] while they meticulously lay a plan to turn the tables, taking advantage of [[EvilCannotComprehendGood his inability to understand bonds and selflessness]] as well as his [[SmugSuper gigantic ego]] and [[{{Sadist}} sadism]]. As a result, when All For One thinks he's about to call checkmate on the heroes, he's caught completely offguard and falls into their trap.]]

** Midoriya inherits One For All from All Might, but it's an incredibly destructive power, All Might is a miserable teacher, and Midoriya doesn't have the natural aptitude for it, so the poor kid spends lengthy amounts of the time in the hospital and almost completely ruins his arms.

* PatchworkKids: The Quirks in Todoroki Shoto's family seem to be tied to hair color. His mother is AnIcePerson with white hair. His father is a literal FieryRedhead. Shoto can produce each power from opposite sides of his body, and has multicolored hair: white on his ice-making right side, and red on his fire-making left side. Two of his siblings have white hair flecked with bits of red, implying that they got more ice than fire.

** The final hurdle in the U.A. Sports Festival obstacle race is a mine field, which means whoever is in the first place is at a disadvantage -- they have the maximum chance of encountering one of the mines.

** U.A. is acknowledged as being one of the top hero schools in the country. As a result, it's apparently tradition during the provisional hero license exam that other schools will gang up to try to take down its examinees. In addition, the fact that the U.A. Sports Festival is nationally televised months ''before'' the exam means that the other schools will know far more about the U.A. students' abilities than the U.A. students will know about those other students. Of course, [[SinkOrSwimMentor Aizawa doesn't tell his class this]].

* PlotArchaeology: During the Forest Training Camp Arc, it's revealed there is a traitor within U.A. acting as a mole to aid All For One. This plot point was then ignored for several, real-time years. It's not until Chapter 336 when it's finally revealed the traitor is [[spoiler:Aoyama, who was forced to work for AFO and quickly sides with the heroes upon discovery, feeling crushing guilt for all he's done]].

* {{Portmanteau}}: U.A.'s name is one, being a portmanteau between the words "'''Yuu'''sha"" and "'''Ei'''yuu". [[MeaningfulName In Japanese, both words can be used to refer to a hero.]]

** [[spoiler:Daruma Ujiko reveals that this isn't an isolated case. As more and more Quirks mix together they become more complex and more powerful. However, the human body isn't evolving quickly enough to handle it, and the younger, up-and-coming generation of superhumans are already showing that control is becoming more and more difficult. This would eventually lead to a phenomenon known as the Quirk Singularity Point, the point where the human body can't handle Quirks, which will cause widespread problems. [[HorrifyingTheHorror Even]] ''[[BigBad All For One]]'' [[EvenEvilHasStandards doesn't want this to happen.]]]]

* ThePowerOfGlass: Starservant, a minor villain during the Endeavor Internship Arc, has the ability to manipulate glass. He can also change its consistency from solid to liquid. He hatches a plot to "destroy the darkness" he sees plaguing society by creating a giant glass orb, but Endeavor handles him fairly easily.

* PoweredByAForsakenChild: Overhaul's Quirk cancelling drug operation is powered by [[spoiler:Eri's blood/tissue, and that he harvests the material until she ''dies''. Then he uses his Quirk to bring her back to life and start the process all over again.]]

* PretentiousLatinMotto: U.A. is one of the top educational institutions in Japan, and their motto is "Plus Ultra", Latin for "Further Beyond."

** [[spoiler:After All Might's retirement, Endeavor gains the #1 hero status. He is unhappy with it because he did not earn it. He never bested All Might, who went out in a blaze of glory, more popular than ever after defeating All For One, and their ultimate match will now never happen. Plus, he realizes that all he did to his family for the purpose of surpassing All Might is now completely pointless.]]

* RedEyesTakeWarning: Zigzagged all around. There are several heroic figures that possess red eyes, and some of them are perfectly nice people, like Kirishima. Some, however, are depicted as being quite dangerous and scary in spite of their heroic status, either due to their appearance (Gang Orca), their attitudes (Bakugo and Mirko), or due to their Quirk's power (Tokoyami and Eri). Then, of course, there's Shigaraki, the series' BigBad, who also possesses red eyes and longs to destroy everything he can.

* ReferenceOverdosed: Horikoshi is a big fan of superheroes and Western movies, especially ''Franchise/StarWars'' and the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse, which causes the story to be filled with {{Shout Out}}s to these movies. Although much rarer, there are also quite a few shout outs to video games.
* ReforgedIntoAMinion: The Nomu are implied to be a species of LaserGuidedTykebomb created by giving individuals Quirks too powerful for their bodies, then inflicting BodyHorror and WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity on them.
* RequiredSecondaryPowers: Deconstructed, Reconstructed, and everything in-between. Some quirks have this built in, while others [[PowerIncontinence lack it]] [[DifficultButAwesome entirely]]. A large part of a person mastering their quirk comes from learning how to exploit this or account for its absence.

** Some Quirks require the body to be able to handle them, and if the body can't it often causes PowerIncontinence for the user and needing special gear just to handle it. [[spoiler: The Doctor speculates this is because Quirks are actually "software" whereas the human body is "hardware", and the hardware isn't evolving enough to keep up with the software.]]
* RestrictedRescueOperation: Because only licensed heroes are allowed to use Quirks to take down criminals, Class 1-A struggle with rescue missions for the very real fear that they'll be expelled or arrested, and so will never become pro heroes. This severely limits the mission to rescue Bakugo, as a majority of the class don't even want to go, two of the ones with useful abilities are incapacitated, and the ones who go have to do whatever it takes to stay within the law.

* RetroactiveIdiotBall: When Midoriya first receives One For All from All Might, his body naturally has a lot of difficulty adjusting to suddenly having a powerful Quirk, leading to him repeatedly breaking his bones while attempting to use it properly. It's eventually revealed that like Midoriya, All Might used to be Quirkless as well, and secretly used a variety of support equipment while his body was getting accustomed to it. Naturally, this begs the question of why All Might never considered looking into any support equipment for his successor until ''after'' Midoriya sustained injuries serious enough to risk permanently rendering his arms unusable. This pretty much piles on the fact that All Might may not be the best teacher for Midoriya if he forgot an important detail like that.
* RevengeIsNotJustice: Ida became a hero after he became his brother's successor when he was attacked by Stain and forced to retire. When Ida finally met Stain face to face, he ignored an injured hero and tried to attack him. During their fight, Stain chews Ida out for his need for vengeance and then drives in the nail further by stating that Iida's actions are the furthest thing from being a hero. In an inversion of this, when Ida actually admits to these criticisms, Stain seemed unable to accept that he had really had gotten through to him.

* ReverseCerebusSyndrome: The first two seasons are mostly constant action and focuses on the criticism of a world where superheroes are a common profession. The next couple of seasons then have a lot more lighthearted school life scenes, which includes showing off everyone's dorms and preparing for a school festival.

** Secondary characters sometimes get to receive some focus, such as Tsuyu and Mineta (besides others such as Yaoyorozu, Jiro and Kaminari) in the USJ Arc, Tokoyami and Hatsume during the U.A. Sports Festival Arc, Tsuyu, Mineta, Jiro and Koda in the Final Exams Arc, Shoji and Tokoyami in the Forest Training Camp Arc, and so on. Kirishima receives a lot of attention, such as in the USJ, Forest Training Camp, Hideout Raid, and Internship Arcs, bordering on being an AscendedExtra.
** Even [[spoiler: ''Shigaraki'' gets this, becoming the VillainProtagonist of the Meta Liberation Army Arc, as it focuses on his goals and aspirations, but most importantly, what was the 'one bad day' which made Tenko Shimura into Tomura Shigaraki.]]

** Midoriya getting excited while watching and analyzing fights and constantly muttering to himself without realizing, much to the annoyance of those around him.

*** After another of these from Ida, Aizawa once thought to himself "[he]'s so useful", indicating that there really isn't an ulterior teaching motive in most cases and Iida's just paranoid.

* SemiaquaticSpeciesSailor: The pro hero Selkie's Quirk gives him the powers and appearance of a humanoid spotted seal. He and his team patrol the ocean, performing search and rescue operations and fighting modern day pirates.

* SignificantNameShift: [[spoiler:Midoriya's childhood bully, Bakugo, refers to him with the insult "Deku" throughout the series, meaning "useless" - until Bakugo's character arc leads him to the long-awaited apology; at this moment and ever since, he refers to Midoriya by his real name.]]

* SkewedPriorities: Aizawa accuses the upper management of U.A. as having this, as the test for acceptance into the hero department favors people with battle-oriented Quirks. This means that people with incredibly useful Quirks but who don't really have any way to battle robots will fall through the cracks and at best only be accepted into the General Studies course. That said, it is possible that if someone shows themselves to be useful, a General Studies student can get a transfer over to the heroics course. [[spoiler:This is likely why Aizawa takes in the most recently noted victim of the test, Hitoshi Shinso, and trains him in his own fighting style to help with the attempt to get into the hero course.]]

** The school's name is frequently translated as Yuuei, but the students are often seen wearing school uniforms with letters U and A on them (which works as a sort of acronym for "Yuuei"). The Viz manga also uses "U.A." when naming the school.

** In terms of backstory and personality, Deku has several similarities to Peter: both were scrawny nerds who became {{Action Hero}}es thanks to a [[ItBeganWithATwistOfFate twist of fate]]. They [[ComesGreatResponsibility feel that it's their responsibility]] to use their powers to save others, [[NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished even at severe cost to themselves]]. They're also both extremely close to their mother figures and suffer from being BornUnlucky. Horikoshi has stated that Spider-Man is his favorite comic book hero and one of his primary inspirations for ''My Hero Academia'' as a whole, particularly Midoriya's philosophy that a hero is someone who saves others and brings them reassurance in times of crisis. In Chapter 210, [[spoiler:he gains the Quirk "Blackwhip" which fire black tendrils that mimic the black Spider-Suit and ComicBook/{{Venom}}. The fact that the tendrils appear to be created out of dark electricity brings to mind ComicBook/MilesMorales' ability to fire electric "venom". After Deku works on getting the Quirk under control, he can use the tendrils to grab objects and swing around much like the wall-crawler with his webs. Later, during the war with the Paranormal Liberation Front, he realizes that he developed a SpiderSense from the quirk of One for All's fourth user.]]

** In the spin-off, ''My Hero Academia: Vigilantes'', the main character, Kouichi Haimawari, a.k.a. "The Crawler", takes this even further. His Quirk, Sliding, has him have to go on all fours and slide along the ground like a water bug [[spoiler: and later in the series he finds out he can stick to objects as well]]. What's more, he's a college student, lives in a shanty-like dwelling where his partners freeload constantly, and usually is a ButtMonkey as much as Peter Parker is.

** ''My Heroine Academia'',[[note]]''Watashi no Hero Academia'', with "watashi" being a feminine pronoun vs. "boku"[[/note]] which focuses on Class 1-A's female students.

* SummonBiggerFish: While trying to tame Gigantomachia with a month of very little progress, Shigaraki learns that [[spoiler:the Meta Liberation Army took Giran hostage and threatens the League of Villains to come retrieve him or they'll tip off the top-ranking pro heroes of their whereabouts. If they try to stage a rescue, they'll have to fight the MLA's large factions. Since Gigantomachia is still hell-bent on killing Shigaraki and [[ScarilyCompetentTracker knows exactly where he is at all times]], he plans to show up to rescue Giran as agreed, but wait until Gigantomachia arrives to the location as well and let him fight the MLA first until he's weakened.]]

* SuperheroSobriquets: Most of the heroes shown, in addition to their name, have a title in the form of "x Hero", such as "Flame Hero" for Endeavor or "Erasing Hero" for Eraser Head. Though All Might doesn't have one, he is also known as "Symbol of Peace". When choosing their names, most of Class 1-A gets in on this as well.

** The theory is actually mentioned ''by name'' in Midoriya's dream at the start of the Joint Training Arc, and by [[spoiler:the First User]] no less, who states that "[they're] far past the Singularity now." Towards the end of the arc, the meaning of this statement is revealed: Midoirya's predecessors have stockpiled enough power to [[spoiler:allow him to access and use ''their Quirks'', all of which One For All has been stockpiling with each generation]]. While this implies that mastering One For All will be far more difficult than originally thought, and will have far-reaching consequences if he fails to do so, if he ''does'', he'll be more powerful than all his predecessors, All Might included, could have ever hoped to be.
* SuperpowerLottery: A natural consequence of the diverse nature of Quirks, as they can literally range from having an extra limb to possessing a reality-warping power:

** Aizawa's [[NoSell Erasure]] can be this. So long as Aizawa doesn't blink, an individual within his gaze has their Quirk(s) suppressed, temporarily turning even someone whose Quirk renders them nigh unstoppable into a Quirkless individual. This means that even [[SuperpowerLottery characters like AFO]] are essentially not immune to it, unless the target has a very specific Quirk that could counter or prevent the effect (it doesn't work on passive mutation Quirks, for example). Aizawa's power can be crucial in surviving otherwise hopeless battles. For example, during the Paranormal Liberation War it is Aizawa's Erasure that suppresses [[spoiler:Shigaraki's boosted Decay]] from literally killing ''everyone'' in seconds.

** Twice's [[MesACrowd Double]] allows him to clone any subject (living or not) of which he knows the exact measurements. The Quirk has several limits in that he can only manage two clones at a time and each subsequent clone is [[CloneDegeneration weaker than the original or the previous clone]]. Cloning himself, however, bypasses both of these limits due to the clones possessing the same Quirk. This creates an endless loop of clones creating more clones, potentially resulting in [[CloneArmy an entire army of them]]. Giran notes that Twice's Quirk could easily allow him to take down an entire country by himself. Subverted however in that [[spoiler: clones are not necessarily obedient and possess the same sense of individuality as the original. Attempting to clone an army of himself at some point resulted in a massacre that left Twice mentally broken and unsure of whether he was the original Jin Bubaigawara.]]
** Chisaki/Overhaul's power is TouchOfDeath and HealingHands in one package. He can simply touch his target and [[OneHitKill blow them up]], or touch his underling and [[HealingFactor heal them in an instant]]. It also works on nonliving matter, allowing him to fight à la [[Manga/FullmetalAlchemist Edward Elric]]. To top it off, [[spoiler:he can even deconstruct both his underling and his own body, then [[FusionDance become a fusion of the two]]. However, he needs his hands to be able to do this, which the League of Villains realise [[AnArmAndALeg and teach him the very hard way]].]]

** Star and Stripe's power is [[spoiler:New Order, which allows her to reject rules of reality and impose her own.]] Quite possibly ''the'' single most powerful Quirk in the whole series, and the very definition of lottery winner.

** Animal-themed Quirks in general fall into this. While on the surface seeming underwelming compared to others, a person with an animal-themed Quirk effectively has multiple powers rather than just ''one'' like most people. To note, two of the top ten heroes in Japan have animal-themed Quirks, and are extremely effective.

** The League of Villains starts slowly taking this route, since instead of a single arc, they lose members rarely, but every few arcs. In the introduction of the modern incarnation of the league, Muscular, Mustard and Moonfish are arrested, and after that [[spoiler:in the Internship Arc, Magne is killed by Overhaul, and in the Paranormal Liberation War Arc, Hawks kills Twice.]]
** For a StoryArc example, the 8 Bullets of the Shie Haissakai. The 8 are members of a Yakuza group that are specifically described as being expendable, and their job is to delay the heroes' just enough for their boss to flee. Unlike most examples, instead of the 8 members being taken down one by one, they're actually dealt with in small groups since they seem to organize themselves in units. Tamaki takes out three that work as a unit called Garbage Trio, Fatgum and Kirishima work together to take down the Shield and Spear duo, Rappa and Tengai, Mirio takes out a duo of Deidoro and Nemoto. Rikiya is the only one to work alone. The other three members of the Shie Haissakai, which are the leaders Mimic, Chronostasis and Overhaul are also taken down separately in order of their importance to the group.

* {{Tanuki}}: A flashback to Kirishima's middle school days features a student who resembles a tanuki and has a Quirk that can temporarily turn leaves into money, referencing various folktales where tanuki turn leaves into money in order to trick people. Some bullies try to force him to turn leaves into money for them until Kirishima steps in to defend him.

** Saiko Intelli, a student at rival hero school Seiai Academy, has a quirk called IQ which allows her to boost her intelligence by drinking tea. Most of her screen time sees her sitting in her team's fancy HQ sitting primly in a chair as she drinks the tea from a delicate china cup.

* ThinkingTheSameThought: All of Class 1-A has similar responses to the proposed hero names, such as thinking that Ashido's proposal of "Alien Queen" sounds lame.[[note]]In the English dub, they're all shocked Midnight rejected it right after accepting Aoyama's "I Cannot Stop Twinkling" with a minor tweak.[[/note]]
* ThisLooksLikeAJobForAquaman: ''Inverted'' early on. All of the first pro heroes shown off are rendered utterly unable to help in the second battle against the Sludge Villain because the situation is a perfect storm of conditions that render all of the otherwise well-rounded heroes completely useless or otherwise too occupied to fight, forcing them to wait until All Might arrives. This gives Midoriya an opportunity to demonstrate he has the heart of a hero.

* ToBeLawfulOrGood: A major source of conflict in the story is the fact that only pro heroes are officially sanctioned to handle Quirk-related threats. As a result, people, even heroes in training, can be charged and severely punished for trying to save others or simply defend themselves using their Quirks without a proper license, as it would be legally described as vigilantism. This comes up on multiple occasions in the story, such as the [=USJ=] Arc where Aizawa has to give his class express permission to defend themselves in order to avoid the legal ramifications of fighting villains without a license.

** Deconstructed in Todoroki, who was subjected to this at least since he was five years old, and it was shown to be a horrible experience for him that broke him mentally. It apparently turned out even worse for Toya, one of his elder brothers (his only sibling whom his father considered worth training at all), so much he was presumed dead [[spoiler: but actually became Dabi who plans revenge on Endeavor.]]

* {{Troperrific}}: Deconstructed. Plenty of superhero tropes are used and always showcase the realities that come with it. Self-proclaimed heroes are a staple in comic books, but here they're seen on the same levels as criminals due to unlicensed use of their powers. Superpowers aren't just godly abilities, they're physical traits that must be trained and '''will''' have an equally powerful repercussion. Being a hero includes gaining popularity, people will capitalize on it and having an eye-catching costume now has practical use in marketing. A KidHero is normally treated on the same level as an adult one, while here the students are treated as children and only get more involved once they're in their late high school years. The list goes on.
* ATrueHero: This is the CentralTheme of the entire series, centering around Midoriya, who idolizes [[TheCape All Might]] and is chosen to be his eventual successor. In their world, EveryoneIsASuper who has some sort of superpower and this has led to a social system where the most skilled and powerful of those people become known as "heroes". However, most of these heroes are only in it for wealth, fame, or glory and not all that interested in helping others or saving people. All Might and Midoriya are both held up as shining exceptions to this, and many people, [[VillainRespect even some villains]], consider them to be the only "true" heroes.

* {{Understatement}}: Sero's statement, "A little much, don't you think...?" to Todoroki who basically froze him with enough excess ice to be visibly seen from outside the stadium, as in covering roughly one half of the stadium's open roof, in Chapter 34. Not surprisingly, many of the spectators were shocked and none of them could blame Sero for losing to Todoroki's [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill attack]].

** Gunhead is a muscular, combat-oriented hero with a mask and gloves that look like gun-muzzles. When Uraraka interned with him, she expected him to be tough and mean. Instead, he was quite warm to her when teaching her self-defense and patrolling techniques, earning a surprised reaction from her.

* UnsuspectinglySoused: Sakaki Deidoro, one of Overhaul's henchmen, is able to induce this in people with his Quirk "Dead Drunk", causing a feeling of intense dizziness and disorientation akin to having consumed a large amount of alcohol. [[spoiler:Unfortunately for them, Mirio's Permeation Quirk means that he's constantly experiencing vertigo, allowing him to NoSell the effects of this Quirk.]]
* VerbalSaltInTheWound: Todoroki makes a sardonic remark to remind [[AbusiveParents his father]] that he will now have a permanent scar awfully similar to his:

** Vigilante mobs spring up following [[spoiler:the disastrous results of the heroes' attempts to foil the Paranormal Liberation Front's attempts to uproot all of Japanese society]] that lead to a severe drop in public opinion of heroes. These mobs believe that only they can protect themselves, but soon begin attacking anyone they believe is remotely threatening looking, including innocent mutants and are fleeing the chaos themselves. These mobs also cause enormous property damage due to their reckless Quirk use while also being wholly unequipped to handle more hardened villains and shunning the heroes who do come to help.
** The spinoff, ''Manga/MyHeroAcademiaVigilantes'' takes a softer stance on this. The protagonist, Koichi, primarily does public service as like picking up trash and giving people directions [[GoodFeelsGood because he enjoys doing it]]. But using his Quirk to do so is technically breaking the law against public, unsanctioned Quirk use, but his actions are so harmless that he usually gets a slap on the wrist and a scolding at worst. But he begins increasingly running afoul of law as he gets into much more dangerous situations with Knuckleduster and Pop Step, with others pointing out that he's not trained to handle dangerous situations and risks making himself a casualty with his actions. While Koichi's actions ultimately help more than harm, he becomes the target of several villains and needs to be bailed out repeatedly by trained heroes.

** One of the most dangerous things about the League of Villains is how much they [[DefiedTrope actively defy this]]. They are constantly growing stronger and more deadly as the story goes on, often in a way that darkly mirrors Midoriya and the other students developing into better heroes. Despite the fact they have been consistently losing members due to the efforts of heroes and other villains trying to subvert them, the various trials by fire they have been forced to undergo pretty much forces them to get stronger and learn lessons just so they even have a chance at survival, with the [[VillainEpisode Meta Liberation Army Arc]] in particular focusing on them developing new skills and techniques as well as overcoming mental barriers they were facing in their development.
** [[spoiler:Muscular has always been an incredibly dangerous foe who only got defeated when Midoriya pushed himself to his limits. However, being freed from prison to do what he wants for a few weeks only let him get back to his initial strength. When he challenges Midoriya again, who has gotten even more capable both physically and tactically, [[CurbStompBattle he doesn't last very long.]]]]

** Discussed in Chapter 336. Bakugo notes that the villains are able to evade capture and have the opportunity to make the first move in the next battle, so the heroes will have to do everything in their power to prepare. Ultimately, [[spoiler:the heroes lure All For One into a trap with the help of the U.A. traitor.]]

** Chapter 161: [[spoiler:Although the mission is successful, it ends on two bittersweet notes. Eri is quarantined due to her out-of-control Quirk and fever, so she won't be better or have full control of her Quirk soon. Sir Nighteye, whom Midoriya and Mirio went to for work study, dies from his injuries but not before seeing them changing their future and seeing All Might again one last time.]]

** Chapter 290: [[spoiler:Dabi is revealed to be Toya Todoroki and Endeavor's crimes towards his family are exposed to the world.]]
** Chapter 296: [[spoiler:Essentially TheBadGuyWins. Sure the heroes manage to waylay the villains, including capturing the Paranormal Liberation Front. But Shigariki, Toga, Dabi and Spinner have escaped thanks to Compress's efforts. The aftermath reveals multiple deaths of both civilians and heroes, including Midnight. Some surviving heroes start to become disillusioned and people begin to doubt the heroes efforts due this incident and Endeavor's secrets coming out. All For One, pleased at the outcome and now having Shigaraki's body under his control, plots to have his main body broken out of prison.]]
** Chapter 297: [[spoiler: All For One succeeds in breaking out his body from Tartarus, releasing not only him but former criminals like Overhaul, Muscular, Moonfish and more notably, ''Stain''. As well as other dangerous criminal Quirk users as well.]]

** In Chapter 117:[[note]]For context, although many people notice that Midoriya's Quirk is very similar to All Might's, since Midoriya keeps the circumstances of his Quirk a secret, Bakugo is the first to figure out how Midoriya got it[[/note]]

[[spoiler:He(All For One) took a duplicate of his Quirk for himself, and gave the original to Tomura Shigaraki.]]

** Not every Quirk is suited for heroic purposes. Despite the fact that most of the population have Quirks, heroes tend to be winners of the SuperpowerLottery.

** In Chapter 38, Midoriya tears into Todoroki when he realizes the latter is shivering because of his own ice and is still refusing to use his flame powers in order to defy his father, Endeavor. Midoriya points out that all of the other students are trying their best and giving everything they've got to win; Todoroki deliberately holding back like that is an insult. The chapter ends with Midoriya challenging Todoroki to unleash his full power.

* TheWholeWorldIsWatching: Thanks to news crews, the fight between All Might and All For One during the Hideout Raid Arc is televised to the entire world. While this means everyone gets to see All Might defeat one of the world's most evil villains, it also lets everybody learn about All Might's PowerIncontinence and ultimately witness his final loss of his powers. It marks the definitive point in the series where his successor Midoriya must take up the mantle as the Symbol of Peace.
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: A {{Zigzagged}} example. Towards the story's conclusion, it's revealed that a large portion of All For One's plan hinges around successfully stealing and subjugating [[ForbiddenFruit One For All]] at last, both for it's immense power and as a symbolic victory over his younger brother. To that end, despite being a NoNonsenseNemesis, he absolutely ''refuses'' to kill the current holders and lose it forever, instead devoting his efforts towards working out a way to overcome it's resistance to him, even as the holders get stronger over the years and more of a threat to him and his plans. However, he has no problems with killing said holders if he's verified that they'd passed the quirk on, in this way contributing to One For All's MasterApprenticeChain throughout the generations. [[spoiler:When the FinalBattle kicks off, Tomura instantly tries to destroy the assembled heroes arrayed against them with his [[MakeThemRot decay]], only to be thwarted by the All For One vestige within him because Izuku was in the line of fire, and he didn't want the quirk's 'container' to be destroyed until after he'd successfully stolen it]].

** Particularly in the anime, during Season 2 episode 2, shows several of the characters working out, with Todoroki's being a particularly fanservicey one, since he wears only a muscle shirt to train.

* WorldLimitedToThePlot: The story is set solely in the scope of Japan (extending to any villainous plot to TakeOverTheWorld, or vaguely similar plots really translating to "Take Over/Destroy Japan"), the outside world is only very rarely alluded to (almost entirely in backstories at that), it's never indicated how the rest of the world manages Quirks, and how the events of the story exist on a global scale is never mentioned at all. Excluding non-canonical material, everything outside of Japan only seems to exist tangentially, and otherwise is ignored for the purpose of the general story. [[spoiler:This gets somewhat {{subverted|Trope}} in the lead-up to the climatic showdown with the league and All For One. Despite their best efforts, the fallout of the Paranormal Liberation War sees society across the country undergoing a breakdown as civilians lose faith in heroes, and a large number of those not killed in the fighting end up quitting from the mounting pressure and relentless public criticism, which combines nastily with the rise in villains alongside the mass breakup of several of the country's prisons that All For One orchestrated. Such a chaotic situation causes other countries to start mobilising to prepare to send international aid to resolve the crisis, and even America's one #1 hero, who considers herself All Might's disciple, cuts through the red tape and just takes off for Japan without authorisation... only to be intercepted by the All For One--[[SplitPersonalityMerge possessed]] Shigaraki in the skies before she can reach the shores. ''Precisely'' to Avert AmericaSavesTheDay, All For One has been having his contacts and allies in the various countries of the world stir up trouble and causing internal disputes to prevent aid being sent to Japan during his stage of his plans, and whilst it [[PyrrhicVictory costs him]], he successfully kills Star and Stripe in the ensuring battle, convincing the rest of the world's leaders to avoid sending their own heroes out during their own internal crises and isolating Japan from further aid]].

** When asked about suggestions for what to for the upcoming cultural festival, Class 1-A replies with literally explosive enthusiasm.

** Being Quirkless is treated as rare enough that it has to be explained to people. As it's repeatedly stated that 80% of humanity now has some form of Quirk, however, the actual ratio of Quirkless individuals should be about one out of every five people - a minority, but hardly as rare as the series would otherwise seem to indicate. Justified a little bit by the fact that Quirklessness is getting rarer every generation, and the 80% statistic includes the whole population, so it's extremely unusual that someone Midoriya's age would be Quirkless. It's implied he's the only one in his whole school who is, so it's fair that people would be confused and need to get a little more explanation or take a few seconds to process it. Even All Might mentions that his own Quirklessness wasn't nearly as big of a social issue as Midoriya's, just because it was way more common in his generation than it is in the new one.

* WrongContextMagic: One For All is unique among Quirks in the setting. Right from the start, it's the only Quirk known to be passed down to a chosen successor rather than inherited from a parent. It also grows stronger with each successive generation, which does not happen with normally inherited Quirks. It was created artificially when [[spoiler:the villain All For One gave his brother a Quirk that stockpiles power and it combined with that brother's then-unknown ability to pass on his Quirk]]. One For All is the only Quirk immune to All For One's power. Midoriya is able to unlock secret abilities of One For All that are completely exclusive to him such as [[spoiler: interacting with spirits of past wielders, accessing their memories as well as being able to use their Quirks which are drastically stronger than they originally were.]]

** The confrontation between All Might and All For One. If All For One kills All Might, that's fantastic, but even when [[spoiler:he gets defeated and put in prison, All For One feels that he came out ahead because he knows that [[InspirationalMartyr it will motivate Shigaraki to grow stronger and more capable as a villain]]. Even moreso, since All Might used up the last of One For All to defeat him, and the Symbol of Peace was forced to retire]].

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